Just ahead of a winter storm, deputies in Missouri rescued a spider monkey wearing a pink tutu that had escaped from its home. The monkey had opened the front door of its owner's house and wandered outside, according to ABC News.
The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office responded to calls about a monkey roaming near the intersection of Highway 21 and Highway M, just south of St. Louis, on Friday afternoon.
When deputies arrived, they found the small monkey dressed in a pink tutu. One deputy knelt down, and the monkey approached and tugged on his pant leg, seeking help.
"After careful negotiations and some coaxing, deputies were able to get close enough to go hands on with the subject and bring this bananas situation under control without incident," said the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office in a Facebook post, according to The Guardian.
"In all seriousness: this is a good example of law enforcement officers who never know what to expect at a particular call and must be prepared for anything that their job throws at them," the Sheriff's Office added.
The timing of the monkey's capture was fortuitous, as a winter storm packing snow and ice hit the region on Saturday, closing roads and sending temperatures plunging.
It was not immediately clear whether keeping spider monkeys as pets is permitted in Missouri. Under the state's Wildlife and Forestry Law, spider monkeys are considered dangerous wild animals and are not allowed to be kept as pets, according to the New York Post.
Species of spider monkeys are listed as endangered, vulnerable, or critically endangered under the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List.
The deputies' interaction with the monkey was captured in photos shared on social media. In one image, a deputy is seen kneeling on the ground as the monkey comes closer and grabs his hands.
"The monkey actually kind of came up and tugged on his pant leg, and so he didn't really know what to do," said Sheriff's Office spokesperson Bissell, according to the New York Post. He continued: "He squatted down and was trying to offer some sort of safety. And he said the monkey reached out and grabbed his hands, and he said, 'OK, I guess we'll just stand here together until we figure out what to do.'"
"This was not a typical afternoon for deputies on patrol in Jefferson County. But you gotta be ready to handle anything that comes at you. Sometimes that's a monkey," Bissell added.
Additionally, this incident occurred just days after law enforcement in California encountered a spider monkey during a traffic stop, when officers found a baby spider monkey while on a call.
This article was written in collaboration with generative AI company Alchemiq