Monkey on the loose in Tampa Bay area shakes off drug darts, evades captors for over a year

Elusive Fla. monkey dodges captors, defies darts

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A monkey that has eluded capture in the Tampa Bay area for more than a year has again escaped from Florida wildlife officials.

Authorities were called to a neighborhood in St. Petersburg on Wednesday when the rhesus macaque monkey was spotted. It was twice hit with tranquilizer darts, but still got away by ducking behind a drug store and a church.

Wildlife rehabilitator Vernon Yates says the tranquilizers don’t appear to affect the animal, though officials have increased the dosage each time they’ve used the drug on the monkey.

Yates says the monkey is smart, even stopping to check traffic before crossing a busy street.

Officials didn’t say how the monkey got loose. They say it isn’t considered a threat to humans.

Information from: The Tampa Tribune, www.tampatrib.com