A MAKO Mermaids crew member has been hurt in an ‘unprovoked attack’ by a Pirates of the Caribbean monkey at Movie World sound studios on the Gold Coast today.
Paramedics were called to the Entertainment Drive, Oxenford studios at 12.10pm to reports a woman, aged in her 50s, had been bitten on the ear by a monkey in an ‘unprovoked attack’.
Queensland Ambulance Service senior operations supervisor Stephen Burns said the woman — a Mako Mermaids make up artist — was sitting down at a nearby sound stage when the animal wandered off from the Pirates 5 set.
The monkey — believed to be Pirates capuchin monkey Jack dubbed the ‘meanest, most rotten-tempered Simian in the Caribbean’ — approached and bit her.
“It is very unusual ... obviously at a movie set I guess anything goes and we can’t be too surprised,” said Mr Burns.
The woman was treated at the scene and bleeding was controlled before paramedics arrived. The wound was described as ‘not very serious’.
She was taken by ambulance to Allamanda Private Hospital at Southport where she now faces a tense wait to see if she contracted any exotic diseases.News_Image_File: Did Pirates of the Caribbean monkey Jack attack? A woman was bitten in an ‘unprovoked attack’ by a Pirates monkey at Movie World studios today.
Mr Burns said a registered nurse on the scene confirmed the monkey had received ‘all the necessary vaccinations’ to safely be in Australia.
A spokesman for Village Roadshow Studios said the woman was “interacting with the monkey” when she received a minor laceration to her ear.
“The woman was immediately attended to by the production’s nurse and first aid staff,” he said.
“Per normal safety procedures, an ambulance was called to attend to the crew member and she has since been transported to hospital.”
Capuchin monkey Jack has already made headlines since filming started with uproar late last year when Australia’s tough biosecurity laws threatened to delay production.News_Image_File: An ambulance officer holds up a blanket as the woman who was bitten by a monkey is walked into Allamanda Hospital. Photo: Ruby Spillman
Jack was set to be locked up in quarantine for months after arriving in Australia.
A Biosecurity Queensland spokeswoman said the department had been notified of the attack.
“We have been advised of it and we are in contact with the company,” she said