A group of fishermen were traveling in their boat down the river in Tres Vendas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, when they spotted something struggling in the water ahead.

They slowly approached and realized it was an exhausted howler monkey, known as “bugio”, trying to stay afloat.

It looked like the monkey was attempting to swim across the river but started to struggle once he hit the halfway point.

The fishermen pulled their boat up alongside the monkey and then offered him an oar to use as a floatation device. The monkey quickly grabbed onto the oar as another man on the boat recorded the rescue.

“Hold on, dude.” said one man. The monkey clung to the oar for dear life and even lifted his torso out of the water as he rode to safety.

The fishermen brought him to a cluster of trees hanging over the riverbank and the monkey quickly jumped on the branches and disappeared into the trees.

Howler monkeys are known for their howl that can be heard up to a mile away and are usually good swimmers.

The man who filmed the video told Daily Mail: “I and a group of friends went camping and fishing.

“We were almost leaving and in one last boat ride along the river, we saw the monkey swimming in the river, showing signs of fatigue.

“We drove the boat to the point where the animal swam and extended the oar to the animal, which soon clung to not drown.

“The monkey species is a ‘bugio’ and it’s an endangered species.”