WASHINGTON, Utah – A monkey on the loose in southern Utah will find a home in a different state after police in Washington City picked it up on Wednesday.
The monkey was roaming a neighborhood, and neighbors said it was a bizarre experience.
Roxanne Anderson said a neighbor knocked on her door Wednesday evening and told her the monkey was on Anderson’s roof. With no idea where it came from, Anderson says it was a surprise.
“I didn’t believe her; I thought it was a joke,” Anderson said. “I didn’t know what to say."
Anderson got out her phone and started videotaping. Her son, Bradyn Dunkley, got on the roof as well, trying to lure the monkey off, but says he soon learned monkeys move fast
“I was two houses down, roof jumping with a monkey,” Dunkley said. “It made me feel like a monkey.”
Dunkley said they tried to use bananas to keep the monkey in one spot until animal control officers could arrive. The monkey was wearing a diaper and seemed friendly around people, so they assumed it was someone’s pet.
But at one point, the monkey did bite Dunkley, sending him to the hospital.
Neighbors and animal control officers eventually cornered the monkey and used tranquilizers to capture it.
“Officers canvassed the neighborhood trying to find and locate an owner,” said Washington City Police spokesperson Ed Kantor. “The monkey has been quarantined at the Washington City animal shelter.”
Friday an owner did come forward. Kantor said a local vet assisted in the capture and they determined the monkey didn’t have any diseases. But it is illegal to own a monkey in the state of Utah and that means the monkey has to leave.
Kantor said they’re taking steps to place the monkey with an out of state sanctuary. At this point no charges have been filed against the owner.
