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[Carrie McLaren <temporary181 AT stayfreemagazine.org>]

Monkey still on the run in Tupelo
http://www.djournal.com/pages/story.asp?ID=248200&pub=1&div=News

8/4/2007 4:31:17 AM

By Emily Le Coz
Daily Journal

TUPELO - Oliver snubbed his girlfriend and a team of searchers hoping 
for the monkey's safe return during Friday's hunt for the escaped 
capuchin.

The 9-year-old primate fled the Tupelo Buffalo Park and Zoo on 
Tuesday and continues to elude his would-be captors. As of late 
Friday, the monkey was still on the loose.

Park employees used Baby, another white-faced capuchin, as bait to 
lure Oliver to a cage. But the monkey did not appear, said Ann 
Stewart, park employee.

"There was no sign of him anywhere," she said. Searchers "left at 8 
a.m. this morning and didn't come back until 4 p.m. this afternoon. 
They never saw him."

Residents, however, continue to report sightings of the cleaver 
capuchin, who unlocked his cage to escape. Two children spotted him 
Friday morning near a veterinary clinic on Coley Road - more than a 
mile from the last place he was spotted north of McCullough Boulevard.

Oliver's escapade also continues to create excitement nationwide. On 
Friday, National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" aired a 
segment on the monkey during which a reporter interviewed Stewart.

Anyone spotting Oliver is asked to call the park at 844-8709, 
extension 0. After 5 p.m., call 401-3849.

###

PHOTO: Thomas Wells
Tupelo Buffalo Park employee's Kirk Nemechek and Kimberly Owen begin 
setting up traps near the Buffalo park in an attempt to catch 
"Oliver" the white-faced capuchin that escaped from the park earlier 
this week.