A baby monkey with a festering wound after being constricted by a piece of discarded rope was finally rescued.

The small primate was saved by wildlife conservation authorities who found it on a hillside in Chonburi province, Thailand on May 21.

Fruit and monkey food vendor Ratri Thongtem, 62, called them after seeing the hapless wild animal with the red rope squeezing its torso.

The rescue operation reportedly took about one hour since officers first had to tranquilise the monkey's protective mum in order to reach the young simian. They then climbed up a tree and successfully brought it down.

Footage shows how the rope dug painfully into the baby's skin, leaving a dark band even after veterinarians cut it loose.

Wildlife conservation officer Phairot Phomwat said: 'The wound was rotting, but the tissue has started regenerating. The monkey needs to be treated and given antibiotics, but recovery can take two to three weeks due to the severity of the injury.'

Ratri said the red rope is commonly used by fruit vendors for tying bunches of bananas, which tourists feed to the wild animals. She added the unwitting monkey may have picked it up to play with, but accidentally became stuck.

She said: 'I would like to ask the tourists to throw the ropes properly into a bin after finishing feeding the monkeys. Or they can bring the ropes back to the vendors so that the monkeys will not be put in danger again.'