Mystery Monkey Caught In Florida After 3 Years On The Loose

The rhesus macaque first escaped capture outside Tampa in January 2009.

Photo snapped by a family that often fed the rogue monkey.

Via: 6thfloor.blogs.nytimes.com

The elusive macaque and Florida folk hero was captured Wednesday after a five-hour stakeout (and three-year, on-and-off search) in the woods of St. Petersburg.

The male monkey, who was the subject of a nearly 5,000-word New York Times story this summer, was caught by a Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission spokesman, a professional wildlife trapper and a veterinarian, CBS News reports.

After shooting the monkey with a tranquilizer dart and briefly chasing him through the woods, trapper Vernon Yates apparently caught the Rhesus Macaque with his hand and a catch pole. The monkey was taken to a veterinarian’s office.

His capture comes two weeks after biting a woman in south St. Petersburg. Of course, the monkey’s 86,000-strong Facebook following is devastated:

Cherie Diez, Tampa Bay Times

Via: tampabay.com