WANTED: Armed and Dangerous
A monkey is mad and on the loose in Tampa Bay.
CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) -- Wildlife officials said a rhesus monkey known to throw feces when mad is on the loose in Tampa Bay. Authorities have been trying to capture the primate since Tuesday afternoon, but it managed to evade a bucket truck and tranquilizer dart.
Gary Morse with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says the adult male is thought to have escaped from an unlicensed source. It was last seen in Clearwater.
The monkey is not considered dangerous.
I think that would depend on how you define "dangerous."
A feces-throwing monkey is dangerous in my book. Maybe I'm too sensitive.
I expected the monkey to be in custody by now. Bad news. He's not.
From the St. Petersburg Times:
The search is over, at least for the moment, for the rhesus macaque running through Clearwater.
Officials are waiting for a tip from the public before they resume the search for the monkey, last seen Tuesday night at a strip mall at the intersection of Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard and U.S. 19.
"If I knew he was staying in that complex, we would probably go in with 12 traps and bait him," said Vernon Yates, a trapper working with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. "I've got a sneaking feeling he's already left and gone somewhere else."
Authorities first received notification that a monkey was on the loose at 1:00 or 1:30 Tuesday afternoon.
...Yates spent the rest of the afternoon Tuesday in the shopping center and office complex, trying to get clear sights on the monkey to shoot it with a dart gun. But the creature was elusive and out of reach in the 60-foot-tall oak trees.
Authorities believe that it is an unlicensed, escaped monkey and that it can be dangerous if cornered.
So the monkey can be considered dangerous. That initial report was wrong.
Correction: The monkey is armed with feces and considered dangerous. Approach with caution. Scratch that. Don't approach.
Yates said he guessed that Dumpster diving attracted the monkey to the office and commercial complex. The strip mall hosts two Mexican restaurants, a seafood restaurant and a Chinese fast-food chain.
He said the monkey seemed "very streetwise" and apparently knows how to avoid people.
"If you see the monkey, you should stay away from it," said Gary Morse, spokesman for the FWC. "When a monkey is on the loose, it's not the most pleasant thing."
The monkey could carry hepatitis, Morse said. And that's not the only reason to stay away.
"Monkeys' social behavior can be pretty lewd," Morse said. "They're infamous for throwing feces at things they don't like."
A "VERY streetwise" monkey -- scary!
Who knows how long the monkey well evade authorities?
Hopefully, this streetwise monkey will be apprehended soon and off the streets.
Video.
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More monkeys behaving badly:
Sexist Pig Kenyan Monkeys
Monkeys Do NOT Belong in Convenience Stores
A civilized monkey:
Monkey Works as Waiter in Japanese Restaurant
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