HOUSTON COUNTY, TX (KTRE) -
A Grapeland woman is recovering from an injury she received from the teeth of a lemur while she was delivering mail on her rural route Tuesday.
Marla Reeves said she was delivering mail in the mailbox at 4:38 p.m. on County Road 2345 when the lemur jumped into her vehicle, bit her hand and arm and then jumped out.
"I was fixing to pull away and when I looked back to pull away that's
when I felt the pain in my hand," Reeves said. "I looked at my hand and the lemur was
on my hand and I lifted up my arm like this and blood was running down
my arm."
The lemur belonged to a resident in the area, who managed to chase it into her shed, according to Sheriff Darrell Bobbitt.
Bobbitt said the lemur is in quarantine for 30 days to be sure it does not have rabies. He said there is a request in to the county attorney's office to determine if anymore legal action can be taken.
Reeves is seeking medical treatment for her injuries.
Reeves said this is her second encounter with the lemur. The first happened a few weeks ago, when she was delivering mail and saw it race across a fence. She said she rolled her window up and the lemur jumped on her car.
The owner came over to talk to her and so Reeves said she rolled down her window and the lemur stuck its paw in the car and started pulling on her hair.
She said at that time, her and the owner had a good laugh about the encounter.
Ring-tailed lemurs are native to Madagascar.
"I texted my boss to let her know that I was going to make the truck and that was at 4:36 and at 4:38 she got the call 'got bit by the monkey, blood's everywhere, come get me," Reeves said.
Since the attack, Reeves has been healing. But she hopes the family will find a new living situation for the lemur.
"I wish they would take him to a sanctuary or a zoo so he can still live and run free but not have to worry about him hurting me or someone else," she said.
Copyright 2012 KTRE. All rights reserved.
Source: Marla Reeves
Source: Marla Reeves
