An actively sought after monkey.
On Sunday January 28, 2024, a Japanese macaque, nicknamed Kingussie Kong, escaped from the Highland Wildlife Park, a zoo in northeast Scotland, reports the BBC.
The snow monkey managed to escape the vigilance of park staff who monitor the enclosure he shares with more than 30 other Japanese macaques.
The alarm was raised after the animal was seen in gardens in the nearby village of Kincraig.
Drones with thermal cameras were then deployed in the Highlands region to try to capture the animal, the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) said.
Given the location of the zoo, it is highly likely that the animal is right in the middle of the mountains and forests of the Cairngorms National Park.
Watch: A monkey was spotted in a man's backyard after it escaped from Highland Wildlife Park in Scotland.
Park officials are using thermal drones to help search for the Japanese macaque, who has been on the run since Sunday.
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The Zoological Society has assured that this male is not considered dangerous to humans or domestic animals, but advises against approaching him.
According to Keith Gilchrist, one of the park managers, the monkey was seen Tuesday morning, the subject of a report.
Tensions and fights between monkeys
“Our team of guards will patrol the area and use different techniques to try to coax him,” while relying on images collected by drones with thermal cameras, which detect movement, he said. .
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According to him, it is violence between animals, linked to the reproduction period, which could be at the origin of this escape.
“It’s a very dynamic group of animals with a fairly strong hierarchy.
This time of year is the breeding season, so tensions are a little high and sometimes fights break out,” he explains.
Strong tensions which could have pushed the animal to set sail.
“When this happens, the animals' adrenaline can sometimes take over and rather than fight, it appears that the animal simply charged through the enclosure fence,” added Keith Gilchrist.
Although the research remains very complicated, park officials hope that the monkey will return to the park on its own if it cannot feed itself.