Monkey business in Qantas cargo hold

A MISCHIEVOUS monkey had Qantas ground crew hopping when he ran amok in an aircraft cargo hold yesterday.

The pint-sized primate – a squirrel size tamarin monkey – gave his enclosure the slip when baggage in the domestic flight shifted and knocked open his cage.

The tamarin was one of five transferred from an interstate zoo to Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures at Wangetti.

His monkey business came to an end when Qantas staff spied the simian stowaway.

Enter Michael O’Brien, Hartley’s group operations manager, who climbed into the plane at Cairns Airport to tangle with the truculent tamarin.

“The ground crew closed the hold and made sure there was no chance of escaping,” Mr O’Brien said.

A braver man than most, Mr O’Brien emerged with a bitten hand and a new addition to the zoo.

“We had to go in with the hands and came away bleeding,” he said.

“The net would have been too cumbersome.”

Qantas is happy the monkey is safe and sound.