If you were ever wondering whether there’s any truth in the saying ‘cheeky monkey’, check out this baboon, who escaped his vasectomy operation and fled with two female monkeys.
Incredible footage captured by pedestrians shows the three primates making their great escape through a car park at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney, Australia.
The baboon and his female companions can be seen running away from the medical research facility towards a parked ambulance.
Michael Tran/Nine News SydneyNew South Wales health minister Brad Hazzard said the male baboon was set to have a vasectomy at the hospital and was being accompanied by his two wives to ‘keep him comfortable’, the Daily Telegraph reported.
Hazzard said:
Tomorrow (Wednesday, February 26) after the operation he and the two wives will return to the colony, where he can stay forever with them but he will no longer be having babies.
One woman said her daughter, who reportedly works at the hospital, saw the unusual incident unfold.
Speaking to 2GB, she said:
My daughter is an occupational therapist at RPA and she said, ‘Yes Mum, I just helped wrangle them’.
Local police and wildlife handlers were sent to help capture the monkeys, and they are now safe and well.
Michael Tran/Nine News SydneyNew South Wales Police confirmed the situation had been resolved and the animals had been captured just before 7pm local time.
A spokeswoman said:
They have been contained. Police are working with experts to safely return them to their facility.
There is no immediate danger to the public but people are advised to avoid the area.
While the primates were at the hospital for the purpose of the baboon’s vasectomy, the hospital is known for breeding animals specifically for medical research.
In 2016, the hospital confirmed baboons were used to help medical researchers conduct tests that contributed significantly to the treatments of new disorders.
Suddenly the term ‘cheeky monkey’ has taken on a much more real meaning.
Here’s to wishing the baboon and his wives a happy ever after, even if there is no more baby baboons on the horizon.
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Emma Rosemurgey is an NCTJ trained Journalist who started her career by producing The Royal Rosemurgey newspaper in 2004, which kept her family up to date with the goings on of her sleepy north east village. She graduated from the University of Central Lancashire in Preston and started her career in regional newspapers before joining Tyla (formerly Pretty 52) in 2017, and progressing onto UNILAD in 2019.