The monkey appears to be showing its wound to He's young son. [Photo/Weibo.com]

The image of an injured wild monkey in Southwest China went viral online, attracting the attention of a local wildlife organization which has come up with three plans to help it.

Monkeys on Mount Emei, the country's biggest natural monkey reserve in Sichuan province, are a must-see attraction for tourists.

The injured 12-year-old, photographed by a tourist surnamed He, suffered a hurt leg and is reportedly the king of a 40-plus member community. On its right leg can be seen a nylon cord in a wound with blood seeping, while the skin and flesh around the cord is swollen.

The photo appears to depict the monkey showing its wound to He's son while looking at the boy. "I think the monkey is asking us for help", said He, who asked authorities at the scenic spot to help it as he wasn't able to untie the nylon cord.

The photo became an instant online hit after He posted it on the Twitter-like Sina Weibo on Saturday afternoon.

The hot topic with the hashtag #Monkey in Mount Emei asks a passerby for help# has attracted around 3.75 million Internet users' attention, while more than 2,000 commented.

The nylon cord on the monkey's wounded and swollen right leg. [Photo/Weibo.com]

Most Weibo users sympathized with the monkey, although a few questioned why He didn't save it.

A Weibo user named qindu said: "I feel heartache", with 37 supporters, another user tongtong commented: "Please save the monkey king as soon as possible, since there are 40 or so monkeys needing its protection", while some others are concerned about whether the monkey was saved, as a Weibo user named 111 asked: "Is there any follow-up?"

"We haven't found the injured monkey," said a source from the administrative committee of Mount Emei, who declined to give his name.

Authorities have three plans to catch the monkey for treatment: adding sleeping pills to drinking water, using a net gun and even an anesthetic rifle. After catching it, they will treat it by untying the cord and bind up the wound.

It's hard to get close to an injured monkey, and the rescue should be carried out by professionals since the monkey might become violent and hurt people if tourists try to help it out of kindness, according to animal experts.

By Yao Yao and Yang Jie (chinadaily.com.cn)