There’s a Random Monkey on the Loose Making Its Way Around Portland, Maine
Editor's note: This article was written by a Townsquare Media Northern New England contributor and may contain the individual's views, opinions or personal experiences.
Maybe it's the most patriotic monkey in America?
If you were around Portland on Monday, more specifically in the area of Tandem Coffee and Bakery on Congress Street, you may have seen a sight that you're either just not used to or made you feel like you're losing your mind. Because there was reportedly a monkey that was rolling the dice on its life and running in front of cars passing by.
A post to the Portland, Maine group on Facebook by Anna McMurchy chronicled her experience with the random monkey on the loose, which she actually quickly mistook for a chipmunk at first.
"This may sound crazy, but is anyone missing a monkey?? On Monday, I was driving my friend to the bus station, and as we drove through downtown near Tandem Coffee and Bakery, a small creature ran across the road in front of my car. At first, I thought it must be a squirrel (it was too big to be a chipmunk), but as we got closer, I saw that it had a round head, funny ears, and a little skinny tail. I would have thought I was crazy if my friend hadn't seen it too and gasped, 'Is that a monkey?!' We googled it and it looks like a baby rhesus macaque. Has anybody else seen something similar around downtown? It really threw us for a loop."
Animal Control has been contacted
Despite some commenters urging animal control to not be called due to fear of the monkey being euthanized, one Mainer in the thread mentioned reaching out to animal control at the urging of the exotic wildlife sanctuary. As for now, the monkey still seems to be on the loose and it's unknown whether or not its still near Tandem Coffee and Bakery.
If you do come across the monkey, though, do not engage and make a call to Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland at 207-854-9771 with location information.