The first drone footage of an escaped Japanese snow monkey has been captured showing the animal strolling through woodland – just 300 yards from the park.
After four days on the run, the primate, nicknamed Kingussie Kong, has still managed to evade recapture after getting out of its enclosure at Highland Wildlife Park, Kingussie, on Sunday morning.
Keepers said that the Japanese macaque is slowly making his way closer to the park and although they were able to follow the macaque for 45 minutes on Tuesday using drones, he was not in a position from which they could retrieve him.
Now footage has emerged of the monkey, also known as a Japanese macaque, making its way through the undergrowth in the Inverness-shire woodlands just yards from the park.
A series of images show the monkey enjoying its wild surroundings. In one he is comfortably sitting and looking around, before he takes a leisurely stroll further into the trees, while in another he is seen mulling around in deep undergrowth.
The first drone footage of an escaped Japanese snow monkey has been captured showing the animal strolling through woodland – just 300 yards from the park
A series of images show the monkey enjoying its wild surroundings
A source at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, which owns the park, said a drone picked up with images at the end of their search on Tuesday afternoon, just before darkness fell.
He said: ‘They had an eye on him for about 45 minutes but they were not in a position to safely dart the monkey so chose not to do that, and then the light faded and they had to call off the search for the evening.’
But with a Met Office yellow warning of strong winds in place on Wednesday, and gusts of up to 85mph possible, weather conditions will mean it is not possible to use the drones, though the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) said the search will continue.
Keith Gilchrist, living collections operations manager at Highland Wildlife Park, said: ‘After continued help from @bhwildlifeconsultancy, we were able to follow the macaque for 45 minutes yesterday using drones.
‘Unfortunately, he wasn’t in a position where we were confident we could bring him in safely but he is making his way closer to the park.
‘Our team will be out again today but given the high winds we won’t be able to fly the drones but will be using thermal imaging cameras.
‘We’re continuing to ask locals to please bring any obvious potential food sources like bird feeders or food waste inside.
‘Although the macaque is not presumed dangerous to humans or pets, our advice is to not approach him but to contact our hotline on 07933 928377 with any sightings.’
A team from the zoo are out looking for the animal and members of the public have been warned not to approach it
A source added that there had been one unconfirmed sighting so far this morning, adding: ‘If it is accurate, then he is still close to the park, so fingers crossed he’ll just go back in.’
Keepers have also been patrolling the area where the monkey has been seen, but their efforts to capture him so far have provided in vein.
It is breeding season at the park and the animal is thought to have escaped from its enclosure around 7am on Sunday after challenging another primate.
Since then there have been a number of sightings, with one of the first in the nearby village of Kincraig, where he was spotted stealing from garden bird feeders.
Over the four days, however, he has been spotted closer to home, with keepers optimistic he is heading in the direction of home.
The source said: ‘We don’t know what a macaques homing instinct is but at his farthest point he was 4km away and now seems to have gotten thar down to 300m from the park, so it suggests must have an idea that that’s home.’
Keepers also hoped that when he hears a whistle they use to attract the macaque troop at feeding times, he will heard it and it will entice him back into the enclosure.
Staff are hoping the animal – known for their intelligence – will be able to work out that the fence is only electrified on the inside and he can safely get back in.
And in case he does return on his own accord, they are carrying out five headcounts a day instead of the usual two.
Snow monkeys are the most northerly living non-human primate in the world and are well acclimated to sub-zero temperatures. In the wild they will huddle together for warmth in winter on sleeping grounds and will soak in hot springs to keep warm.
Mountain rescue team member Jonny Porteous uses a drone to search for the escaped monkey
One couple who saw the monkey in their back garden at the weekend described the experience as ‘so surreal’.
Carl Nagle, 49, and his partner, Tiina Salzberg, 50, saw the monkey from their patio doors in Kincraig near Kingussie on Sunday morning.
It nibbled on the nuts in their bird feeder and perched on their garden fence for about 15 minutes before running away.
Ms Salzberg, a chief strategy officer for a marketing consultancy company, said: ‘We were watching in awe as it’s so displaced to see a Japanese snow monkey in your garden in a village in the middle of nowhere.
‘It was absolutely wild, we were both elbowing each other trying to get the other one out of the way so we could get the best video and camera angles.
‘It was incredible, I’m sure once in a lifetime.’
Mr Nagle said: ‘It’s just the most surreal thing, I’ve seen snow monkeys in the wild but you don’t expect to see them in your back garden in the Highlands.’
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