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Monkey search in Clearwater on hold
CLEARWATER (AP) -- A monkey is on the loose in the Bay area.
Wednesday Florida Fish and Wildlife officials were flooded with calls of monkey sightings. But officials still haven't been able to find the monkey that jumped out of a Clearwater tree late Monday night.
Wildlife officials say the rhesus monkey isn't dangerous but the species is known to throw feces when mad.
Authorities have been trying to capture the primate since Tuesday afternoon. It managed to evade a bucket truck and tranquilizer dart.
Thelmarie Gunter has been watching for monkeys ever since she spotted a pinkish face staring through some leaves Monday.
"My fear again was he might run out to U.S. 19, and then he'd become monkey soup," Gunter said. "So I was like, let's keep him all in one piece."
Gary Morse with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says the adult male is thought to have escaped from an unlicensed source.
But Chris Burkland has another theory. Burkland says the monkey has been living in an orange grove about 10 minutes away from where he was spotted.
"Got to be four or five years he's been living over at Eagle Lake Park," Burkland said.
Officials say it most likely came to the Clearwater area from Pasco County.
The monkey was last seen on Park Place Boulevard in Clearwater.
The official search for the animal is on hold.
If you spot the monkey in your neighborhood you're advised to stay away from it and call Florida Fish and Wildlife's hotline at (888) 404-3922.
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