Hunt launched for runaway monkey

A moody monkey is being hunted by zoo staff today after he made a run for it after a family fall-out.

The 3ft tall, black-furred and white tailed Spider Monkey broke free from his compound at Belfast Zoo yesterday.

He was last spotted by a woman in her back garden and today as police and zoo staff launched a major search operation, zoo manager Mark Challis said: “We believe he’s a young male in the group who’s had a set-to with his dad, who’s also in the group, and has climbed out of the enclosure late yesterday morning.

“He’s out of his normal environment. He’s likely to want to hide. They are a relatively shy, nervous species.”

Staff at the zoo, which keeps one of the largest groups of monkeys held in captivity, urged anyone who spots the runaway, not to approach it.

“They come from the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro, so they are quite a tough species of monkey.

The cool air nights shouldn’t bother them too much,” Mr Challis added.

“We have a very capable and trained escape team in the zoo. We wouldn’t want people to approach him too cosely, but if they can keep an eye on him and see what he’s up to that would be ideal.”