Banana-Sam, Stolen Monkey, Communicates to his Fans via Twitter
Categories: Animals
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| He's back! |
The 17-year-old monkey is currently not on display at the zoo, which disappointed the throngs of people who came to see San Francisco's newest celebrity yesterday. However, he has become quite a source of entertainment on Twitter, where he's been providing his followers with witty updates since his return on Saturday evening.
As an example: "Went to monkey bars in Golden Gate Park playground, left disappointed."
Zookeepers came into work on Friday morning to find the zoo's outside gate had been cut as well as the mesh to the squirrel monkey cage. Staff were horrified to find one of their favorite monkeys -- Banana-Sam -- missing. They issued a press release and a $5,000 reward for his safe return, noting that squirrel monkeys are high on the exotic pet trade list.
On Saturday, a man reportedly found the monkey in Stern Grove about two miles away from the zoo. He lured the monkey into his backpack and took him to the zoo. Police now are investigating whether the man who kindly returned Banana-Sam was the same person who stole him.
Zookeepers told KTVU that Banana-Sam, who was cold and thirsty when he was found, is resting up and will rejoin his friends in the monkey exhibit later this week.
"My first glance at him was total relief because he looked clean, healthy, and unharmed, and indeed he seems to be doing fine," Jill Andrews, the San Francisco Zoo's assistant primate curator told reporters Monday.
No arrests have been made, but Banana-Sam tweeted out this good news: "Gonna try and get Lifetime to make a movie about my escape. Maybe "The Day the Screeching Stopped"?"
Since you can't yet visit Banana-Sam, here's an NBC video of him for your viewing pleasure.
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