Loose monkey tranquilized, still escapes

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., March 4 (UPI) -- Authorities in Florida said a grinning monkey on the loose for more than a year once again evaded capture, despite being shot with two tranquilizer darts.

Gary Morse, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, said commission officials, police and a wildlife rehabilitator responded Wednesday after the monkey was spotted in St. Petersburg, the Tampa (Fla.) Tribune reported Thursday.

Morse said the monkey, believed to be a rhesus macaque, was shot with two tranquilizers but still managed to flee its pursuers.

"The drugs just don't seem to affect him for whatever reason," wildlife rehabilitator Vernon Yates said. "We've increased the dosage every time that we've shot him. What we're really doing is turning him into a drug addict."

Yates said investigators do not know where the monkey came from, but it displays intelligence when fleeing capture.

"He runs to a busy street; he just doesn't just run, dart through traffic like a normal cat or dog does," Yates said. "He stops and looks."

Morse said officials are appealing to the public and media to keep clear of the monkey to keep from scaring it away.