A monkey escapes from its enclosure: drones and thermal cameras used to find the macaque on the run

Le parc déconseille de s'approcher de l'animal. ILLUSTRATION UNSPLASH – Katharine Crompton

Drones with thermal cameras were mobilized to find a Japanese macaque that escaped from its enclosure at the Highland Wildlife Park in Scotland this Sunday January 28, 2024 

Escaped from its enclosure since Sunday January 28, this Japanese macaque, also known as the "snow monkey", has mobilized great resources in the Highlands in Scotland, as the reports 7sur7.be.

It is not recommended to approach it

The animal would have managed to escape from its enclosure at the Highland Wildlife Park, located in the middle of the Cairngorms National Park (in the north-east of Scotland) this Sunday. Although it is not considered dangerous, the Zoological Society does not recommend approaching it.

The monkey was seen this Tuesday, January 30 and was the subject of a report according to Keith Gilchrist, one of the park managers.

Watch: A monkey was spotted in a man’s backyard after it escaped from Highland Wildlife Park in Scotland. Park officials are using thermal drones to help search for the Japanese macaque, who has been on the run since Sunday. https://t.co/k4jT82B4cY pic.twitter.com/kJtWQ5OvbK

— The New York Times (@nytimes) January 30, 2024

"Our team of guards will patrol the area and use different techniques to try to coax him", while relying on images collected by drones with thermal cameras, which detect movement, he added.

"The breeding season"

The escape of the animal may be linked to violence between animals during the breeding period: "It’is a group of very dynamic animals with a fairly strong hierarchy. This time of year is the breeding season, so tensions are a little high and sometimes fights break out,” he explains, according to the Parisien.

Park officials hope the snow monkey will return to the park on its own if it cannot find food on its own.