‘Kingussie Kong’ captured with a Yorkshire pud on way to see friends
Runaway monkey was tempted by savoury treat after five days on run from Highland wildlife park
IT ESCAPED heat-seeking drones and a search party that included mountain rescuers on a five-day odyssey of the Scottish Highlands.
But for Honshu the monkey, nicknamed Kingussie Kong, it was the temptation of a Yorkshire pudding – as well as a reunion with its friends – that ended its bid for freedom yesterday.
The seven-year-old Japanese macaque came out of hiding to snaffle the savoury treat, which had been left out by Stephanie Banyan in her garden in the village of Insh.
Ms Banyan had left the pud for birds and squirrels. But when she looked out of her sunroom shortly after 10am yesterday, she was confronted by Honshu, a fugitive since it fled Highland Wildlife Park in Kingussie on Sunday. The pudding had disappeared.
Honshu’s keepers believe it had slowly been making its way back home over recent days, missing the company of other monkeys.
After spotting the fugitive, Ms Banyan raised the alarm on a “monkey hotline”, set up for locals to report sightings. A drone was launched and keepers arrived within 10 minutes.
Members of the search team surrounded the house, with tranquilliser rifles trained on the property as Honshu navigated the gutters. After being shot, it slumped face down and was collected in a large net.
As the keepers closed in, the monkey showed its gratitude to Ms Banyan by defecating in her well-tended garden.
It is estimated Honshu travelled at least 12.5 miles during its escape, with the furthest confirmed sighting more than four miles from its home.
Ben Harrower, the owner of BH Wildlife Consultancy, who joined the search, said at first he had only been able to pick up a pheasant and deer with his drone, before thermal imaging showed Honshu on the roof.
“He was very well hidden under an alcove,” he said. “After 20 minutes of monitoring, a team from the Highland Wildlife Park were able to get into position and successfully tranquillise the monkey and bring him to safety.”
Ms Banyan told Channel 5 news: “I came down into the sunroom with my coffee, looked out of the doors, and the monkey was just staring straight in the window at me.
“There was a bit of shock, a bit of surprise, then I thought I’d better phone the hotline.”
There have been several sightings of Honshu since Sunday. The monkey was seen that morning snacking on bird feeders in Kincraig, more than two miles north of the wildlife park.
An initial search effort focused on vast woodland to the north of the town.
Keepers believe it fled the enclosure after getting into a fight, but began returning closer to home after finding there were no other macaque troops roaming Scotland for it to join.
After being tranquillised, the macaque was taken on the short journey back to the wildlife park. It was checked by vets before being reunited with the 36 other members of its troop.
Keith Gilchrist, living collections operations manager at Highland Wildlife Park said he was “so relieved” to have captured the runaway.
While not usually a danger to humans, they have been known to attack when threatened.
“It’s been a long five days,” Mr Gilchrist said. “But the keeper team have been fantastic and the local community have been great with phoning in tips and sightings.
“I’m just glad it all came together in the end and we’ve been able to bring him back home.”