GEIS-新闻详情

Drones close in on escaped Highland monkey on the run from wildlife park

2024-02-02 00:00:00.0 独立报-英国新闻原网页

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A monkey missing for three days in the Scottish Highlands is being tracked by drones and appears to be making his way back to the wildlife park from which he escaped, experts have said.

The Japanese macaque vanished from the Highland Wildlife Park on Sunday, following in the footsteps of another similarly liberty-minded snow monkey which escaped the same tourist attraction in 2008.

He has since been spotted by awed locals who live near the park at Kingussie, with one resident of Kincraig describing it as a “once in a lifetime” experience to see the monkey in their garden – as opposed to the enclosure he typically shares with 33 other macaques.

The monkey was spotted for 45 minutes on Tuesday

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The monkey was spotted for 45 minutes on Tuesday

(Carl Nagle)

But with weather warnings in force on Wednesday, as forecasters warned of 85mph winds brought by Storm Ingunn as it powers towards Norway, the search for the missing macaque continued, as drone sightings raised hopes the fugitive primate could be on his way back to the park.

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Keepers were able to follow the macaque – now being dubbed “Kingussie Kong” – for 45 minutes on Tuesday using drones, which showed him roaming underneath trees and sitting in undergrowth.

“Unfortunately, he wasn’t in a position where we were confident we could bring him in safely but he is making his way closer to the park,” said Keith Gilchrist, living collections operations manager at Highland Wildlife Park.

“Our team will be out again today but given the high winds we won’t be able to fly the drones but will be using thermal imaging cameras. We’re continuing to ask locals to please bring any obvious potential food sources like bird feeders or food waste inside.”

In the drone footage, the monkey was only around 300 metres north of the entry to the park, which has successfully bred Japanese macaques. Also known as snow monkeys, they are the most northerly living non-human primate, according to the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland.

The monkey was spotted using drones on Tuesday

(BH Wildlife Consultancy/PA Wire )

One couple who saw the monkey in their back garden at the weekend described the experience as “so surreal”.

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