Escapee monkey moved to zoo to 'start afresh'

A monkey that went on the run from a wildlife park for more than five days has been moved to another zoo after not settling back into park life.

Honshu, a seven-year-old Japanese macaque, escaped from the Highland Wildlife Park, near Kincraig, last month.

He was captured after Stephanie Bunyan, who lives nearby, spotted the monkey in her garden.

The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), which runs the wildlife park, said Honshu had been moved to its Edinburgh Zoo to give him "a fresh start".

The monkey has been accompanied by three other males from his troop.

Darren McGarry, head of living collections at RZSS, said: "Primate group dynamics can be very complex, especially in a situation like this where an individual is separated from the troop for an extended period of time.

“Honshu is also of the age when macaques disperse or move away, so it would have been very difficult to reintroduce him to his wider family."

The Japanese macaque - also known as a snow monkey - is about the size of a medium-sized dog once they reach adulthood.

Honshu was part of a troop of 37 animals at the Highland Wildlife Park.

The RZSS said he may have been trying to avoid a fight with others in the group when he escaped.

The troop was in the midst of its breeding season and keepers said tensions could sometimes run high.

The RZSS said the monkey was unlikely to have posed a threat to the public or pets, but had asked that people not to approach it.

The search effort included patrols by RZSS staff and drones, including one fitted with thermal imaging equipment and operated by a Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team.

The monkey breakout spawned a whole troop of creative online memes and AI-generated images.