Escaped Japanese macaque which broke out of Highland Wildlife Park captured after five-day hunt

The search for a monkey which escaped from a wildlife park in the Highlands has come to an end after a five-day hunt.

The Japanese macaque broke out of the Highland Wildlife Park on Sunday and was on the loose for more than five days before being discovered a few miles from the park.

An extensive search, including zoo keepers and drones, was launched to locate the macaque and bring him back to his enclosure.

A number of locals captured pictures and footage of the monkey, who it has been revealed is named Honshu, roaming around gardens in Kincraig.

Park officials used a tranquiliser dart on the monkey on Thursday and it is now on its way back to the park to be looked over by vets.

Alan Bannon from RZSS told STV News: “We had a sighting earlier on from a member of the public and our drone and keeper team were able to go down and positively confirm that he was there.

“He was in somebody’s garden, we understand, eating away on a bird feeder. So once we were able to establish that it was safe to do so, we managed to tranquillise the animal and successfully retrieve him.”

Keith Gilchrist, living collections operations manager at Highland Wildlife Park added: “We can confirm we have successfully caught the macaque that escaped from the park on Sunday named Honshu.

“After a call to our hotline just after 10am our keepers and drone team made their way to a member of the public’s garden where the monkey was eating from a birdfeeder and successfully used a tranquiliser dart to catch him.

“The monkey is on the way back to the park with our keepers where he will be looked over by one of our vet team and reintroduced to sub-adult males within the group.

“We want to thank everyone who has helped during the process and will continue to share any further updates.”