Children warned not to go outside alone after monkey that escaped from Highland zoo spotted in the area
CHILDREN have been warned not to go outside alone as a frantic search for a missing monkey continues after the primate escaped from a Scottish zoo.
The hunt for the Japanese macaque has entered its third day after it escaped from the Highland Wildlife Park in Kingussie on Sunday morning.
The runaway animal was spotted in a garden eating food from a bird feeder in the nearby village of Kincraig on Monday.
And after the sightings, one parent revealed that urgent safety measures have now been put in place at a primary school, the Mail Online reports.
Parents of kids attending Alvie Primary School in Kincraig were told they could only play outside in small groups after the monkey was spotted on school grounds.
It comes after drones were drafted in yesterday to help with the search of the missing monkey – as it emerged that he may have fled to avoid a fight with a rival.
Cops also joined Highland Wildlife Park in the hunt for the escaped primate.
Animal collection manager Keith Gilchrist told The Scottish Sun: “We have been using a drone that has a thermal imaging camera.
“It has been doing flights around where he was last sighted. But we’re not picking him up.
“I’m hopeful we’ll find him but it’s a difficult task. It’s a large area with a small animal hiding in it.
“It’s unclear how he is reacting to being out. That’s a worry.”
Keith explained that tensions among the macaques, also known as snow monkeys, may have played a part in the disappearance.
He said: “It’s a very dynamic group with a strong hierarchy. This is breeding season and sometimes fights break out between males.
“Rather than get into a bust-up it seems this one has just gone for it and got past the perimeter fence.
“I’m hopeful he won’t find as much food as back at the park and it will make him want to return.”
What are Japanese Macaque monkeys?
- The Japanese macaques are the most northerly living non-human primates
- They are native to three of Japan’s main islands – Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu
- To escape the cold, they famously bathe in natural hot springs but this behaviour is unique to the monkeys living in Nagano mountains
- The species live in big groups known as troops and have a strict dominance hierarchy – a young female will inherit her mother’s rank
The public has also been warned not to approach the animal if they see it as staff continue to hunt for the escapee.
But have been urged to contact the wildlife centre at comms@rzss.org.uk or call 07933928377 if they spot the monkey.
Darren McGarry, RZSS’s head of living collections, said, “A team of our expert keepers are patrolling the village. We don’t expect him to be a threat to the public but he should not be approached.
“We’re asking locals to bring in any food kept outside, such as food waste bins and bird feeders, to encourage the monkey to return to the park once he is hungry.”
The alarm was raised yesterday when local Carl Nagle spotted the monkey in his garden in Kincraig.
He told BBC News he was having a “lazy Sunday morning” when he read on a local Facebook group that the village had an unusual visitor.
Carl said: “I looked out the window and there he was, proud as punch, standing against the fence eating nuts that had fallen down from one of the bird feeders.
“He hung out, he looked a bit shifty like he was where he wasn’t supposed to be, which was true.
“He wandered around the garden a bit – we thought he’d gone but he came back and then he was up on the bird feeders trying to get into them.
“He was having a really good go – he worked harder at it than a squirrel.”