Escaped Pet Monkey Captured After Week On The Loose In Pawnee County

Imagine driving down a rural Oklahoma road and a monkey jumps out in front of you.

That happened to a Green Country couple this week, and they've got the pictures to prove it.

The monkey spent the past week eluding its owner and deputies in Pawnee County, but it was no match for one business owner armed with a basket of fruit.

Seeing a horse grazing in a field is the norm in Oklahoma, but to see a monkey, one would usually to go to the zoo, not the woods of Pawnee County.

"It's just running down the road, down the side of the road, and the kids got excited, of course," said Cleveland resident Cassie Bishop.

Bishop said she is still shocked she spotted a monkey on the road she drives on a daily basis, but there's a first time for everything. She said she knew what she was seeing was rare, so she made sure to take plenty of pictures, and the monkey was anything but camera shy.

"He's walking back and forth, kissing the window. He was acting like he was posing. That's my favorite picture, when he was acting like he was posing," Bishop said.

After the photo shoot, the monkey made it's way east, to Apax Glass. Workers there say the little guy showed up Tuesday with an injured tail.

"He was just kind of crouched down and I'm sure he was hungry. He was injured, so I'm sure he was," said Sue Piersall. "I think he was just looking for a safe place."

Piersall said they fed the monkey oranges and grapes to distract him, while the business owner safely captured the animal.

"Yeah, he said that he didn't monkey around, that he was just going to get the net and catch it. And he did, he put the net over it, they caught, they put it in the cage, and the owner put it in the cage, and that was the last we've seen of it," Piersall said.

Pawnee County sheriff's deputies say the monkey escaped from a cage, and the monkey's owner told them to shoot it, if they found it.

The owner said he considers the primate a pet, but was afraid the animal would hurt somebody while on the loose.

The owner told News On 6 the monkey is safe now.

We spoke with several different agencies about what takes to own an exotic animal in the state, and we're told there are no permits or licenses required, though many city ordinances prohibit exotic pets.

Deputies say it's a capuchin monkey, but it appears to more closely resemble a vervet.

The Safari Sanctuary said it's working with lawmakers to make it more difficult to own an exotic animals.