Drone hunt for monkey missing in Scottish Highlands threatened by 85mph winds

A Japanese Macaque.
A Japanese Macaque

Strong winds are threatening the search for a monkey which escaped from a Scottish wildlife park over the weekend.

Experts have been using drones to track the Japanese Macaque which found a way out of its enclosure at Highland Wildlife Park near Kingussie on Sunday.

But a Met Office yellow warning for gusts of up to 85mph in place on Wednesday means they will be grounded.

The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) said the search will continue using thermal imaging cameras.

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Keith Gilchrist, living collections operations manager at the wildlife park, said: “Our team will be out again today but given the high winds we won’t be able to fly the drones but will be using thermal imaging cameras.

“We’re continuing to ask locals to please bring any obvious potential food sources like bird feeders or food waste inside.

“Although the macaque is not presumed dangerous to humans or pets, our advice is to not approach him but to contact our hotline on 07933 928377 with any sightings.”

Responding to a sighting by members of the public, keepers were able to follow the monkey for 45 minutes on Tuesday using drones, but were not able to capture him.

Drone footage shows him roaming about underneath trees and sitting in undergrowth to have a look about before moving on.

People are being urged to bring in any food that is stored outside to encourage the monkey to return to the park when it is hungry. Credit: Carl Nagle

One couple who saw the monkey in their back garden at the weekend described the experience as “so surreal”.

Carl Nagle, 49, and his partner, Tiina Salzberg, 50, saw the monkey from their patio doors in Kincraig near Kingussie on Sunday morning.

It nibbled on the nuts in their bird feeder and perched on their garden fence for about 15 minutes before running away.

The Japanese macaque, also known as the snow monkey, is the most northerly living non-human primate, according to the RZSS.

The wildlife park houses a large group of Japanese macaques after successfully breeding the species.

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