Posted on 01/01/2012 7:16:39 AM PST by Zakeet
Banana-Sam, a much-loved squirrel-monkey stolen from his enclosure at the San Francisco Zoo, has been safely returned, officials said.
The monkey was found Saturday night -- a day after he disappeared from the zoo -- at a park by a passer-by who spotted the primate in the bushes, the San Francisco Police Department said in a statement.
The passer-by coaxed the monkey from the bushes into his backpack, and then called the authorities, according to the statement.
[Snip]
The male monkey, known as Banana-Sam to his keepers, is age 17, over 12 inches tall and weighs about 2 lbs. Corrine MacDonald, the curator of primates and carnivores, told CNN affiliate KGO earlier Saturday that squirrel monkeys can live into their 20s, saying his relatively advanced age could put him at more risk.
Banana Sam' keepers warned the public that while he looks very cute, he is not a pet -- and can deliver a nasty nip. The curator said such monkeys carry diseases and can cause serious infections if they bite a human.
The monkey needs a specialized diet to stay healthy, the zoo says.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Word is the exhausted critter was spotted as the guest of honor at a dozen or so Bay Area New Year's Eve Parties, helped occupy one of the city parks, attended a Nasty Pelosi fundraiser, briefly participated in a save the trees rally in Berkley, and is now a registered Democrat voter. Police would have caught him much sooner, but they were not allowed to stop and question illegal aliens in the sanctuary city.
Glad to hear he’s ok.
Not everyone can coax a monkey into a backpack. That’s a gift.
Stop monkeying around.
Isn’t this the zoo where the tiger jumped the enclosure a couple of years ago and killed someone?
I’m guessing the thief found out pretty quickly that monkeys bite! Too bad...hehehe I’m just glad they found the little guy healthy and unharmed.
What was in the safe?
The thieves discovered that gerbils were better
They stink too. In the 60s, a friend had a spider monkey as a pet - the whole house smelled so bad I couldn't stand it and I was only 12 and not as "sensitive" to that kind of stuff.
Yes, but how did he make it all the way to a luxury hideaway in Hawaii?
And did the owner of the safe offer the monkey a reward?
Did he become a NPR listener, too? What’s his DU screen name?
He might not be able to use that backpack again.
“Not everyone can coax a monkey into a backpack. That’s a gift.”
Are you thinking the same thing I am? That this story is a little on the “fishy” side? Still, all’s well that ends well, I guess.
how do you get a monkey in a backpack?
simple, first get him to put his nose in.
“Banana Sam” “much loved” “San Francisco” - Where was Barney Frank when this was going on? The horror....the horror.
Yes, I believe so.
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