By Tim Binnall
Authorities in Florida are on the hunt for a mysterious monkey that multiple people have spotted brazenly roaming around a community. The curious case came to light on Wednesday when the Orange City Police Department took to social media to caution residents about the seemingly out-of-place creature that they began receiving calls about last week. Speaking to a local TV station, witness Kim Bialobos recounted how she was flabbergasted when she noticed the animal, which is believed to be a Rhesus Macaques, scurrying around outside the Popeye's fast food restaurant where she works as a shift manager. "I'm like this cannot be possible," she recalled, "I'm telling everybody, 'listen, there's a monkey... a monkey.'"
Understandably astounded by what she was seeing, Bialobos managed to snap a photo of the creature just before it scrambled over a fence and disappeared from sight. Based on her vantage point, she observed that the animal "looked very well groomed; he was very maintained. He looked healthy, he didn't look like a wild monkey." To that end, she also noted that the creature demonstrated a certain amount of savviness as it was aware not to run towards the traffic outside the restaurant. "He's a smart monkey," she marveled, "he knew not to go that way." Beyond Bialobos, at least six other residents within a three mile radius have reported seeing the mysterious animal over the last few days.
For now, the monkey has managed to stay one step ahead of the city's cops as the department indicated that "we would send someone out to that area, no luck, we can't find it, and it just kept going on. Several days throughout the several days." With the creature still on the loose Orange City Police are urging residents to avoid contact with the animal if they encounter it, since "it could be dangerous." As for where the monkey might have come from, that matter has proven to be a mystery as the department say that they have not received any reports of an escaped pet nor any indication that it could have come from a nearby zoo or sanctuary.