An urgent search is underway for a monkey which escaped from its enclosure at a Highlands zoo.
The male Japanese macaque went missing from Highland Wildlife Park on Sunday (January 28) and is still at large.
Zookeepers are patrolling the village of Kincraig in the Cairngorms National Park on Monday (January 29) to locate and return the runaway primate.
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People are warned not to approach the monkey, although he is not expected to be a threat to the public or pet animals.
And locals are being asked to bring in any food that is kept outside, such as food waste bins and bird feeders, to encourage the monkey to return to the park once he is hungry.
Darren McGarry, head of living collections at RZSS which runs the zoo park as well as Edinburgh Zoo, said: “A team of our charity’s expert keepers are patrolling the village today in order to locate and return the macaque that escaped yesterday.
"Although we don’t expect the monkey to be a threat to the public or pet animals, he should not be approached.
“We are doing everything we can to locate the macaque and are in talks with a drone company to help in this process.
"Locals are being encouraged to bring in any food that is kept outside, such as food waste bins and bird feeders to encourage the monkey to return to the park once he is hungry.”
Anyone who spots the macaque is asked to call 07933928377 or email comms@rzss.org.uk
The Japanese macaques at Highland Wildlife Park are part of the European endangered species programme.
Also known as snow monkeys, they are the most northerly living non-human primates and are the subject of the Three Wise Monkeys maxim 'see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil'.
They live in large social groups known as troops which have a strict dominance hierarchy.
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