A receptionist employed by the parks department in Bloemfontein had to undergo emergency surgery after being attacked by a vervet monkey at work on Wednesday, according to a report on Thursday.
The large vervet monkey had escaped from the Bloemfontein zoo, which is adjacent to the parks department's offices.
Tina Grobler was bitten so badly on her right arm that an artery near her thumb was severed, Beeld reported.
A colleague, Hein Cohen, rushed Grobler to hospital, where she underwent surgery to repair severed tendons, damaged tissue and veins in her right arm.
Meanwhile, zoo employees managed to capture the monkey and return it to the zoo's primate enclosure.
According to a Mediclinic spokeswoman, Grobler was in a stable condition. - Sapa