A monkey is still on the loose four days after escaping from the Highland Wildlife Park.
Neighbours in Kincraig, near Aviemore, were shocked as they saw the Japanese macaque casually walking around the village at around 11am on Sunday morning.
A team from the zoo are still out looking for the animal and members of the public have been warned not to approach it.
One resident, Carl Nagle, 49, said he woke up this morning to his daughter screaming: “Dad! There’s a monkey on the street!”
He said: “It was 11am, I was just having a chilled Sunday morning.
“We went outside the house and there it was in the garden. It was amazing.
“A juvenile Japanese snow monkey that we’ve seen many times at the wildlife park, sitting next to my fence eating nuts that have fallen from my bird feeders.”
Mr Nagle continued: “It wandered back and forth and ran around the garden a little before returning to have a good go at another feeder.
“Then he made his way onto the roof of an outdoor sauna before disappearing into the trees, just before the keepers from the park appeared to try and catch him.”
Mr Nagle explained that the staff members from the Wildlife Park tried to catch the animal, but “it was scared and ran away”.
Highland Wildlife Park confirms monkey has escaped
On Sunday, Darren McGarry, head of living collections at RZSS said: “We can confirm one of our Japanese macaques escaped from its enclosure this morning.
“Our charity has set up a team who are working to secure the monkey safely and as quickly as possible.
“If members of the public encounter the macaque they should contact comms@rzss.org.uk with more information and do not approach it.”
A Police Scotland spokeswoman confirmed that there is no police involvement regarding the escaped monkey.
SSPCA and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service are also not involved.
The monkey is one of 34 Japanese macaques at Highland Wildlife Park.
Are Japanese macaque monkeys vicious?
Japanese macaques, also known as snow monkeys, are not usually dangerous to humans.
However, in 2022 almost 50 people were injured by a gang of snow monkeys who ran riot in the Japanese city of Yamaguchi.
Most were scratched or bitten.
It’s not the first time a Japanese macaque has escaped from Highland Wildlife Park.
According to BBC News, a monkey managed to escape its enclosure in 2008.
It was recaptured nearby within an hour.
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