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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/7514621/Mystery-Monkey-of-Tampa-Bay-evades-capture-for-a-year.html

Mystery Monkey of Tampa Bay evades capture for a year

A fugitive rhesus monkey which looks both ways before crossing a road
has become an unlikely local hero in Florida after resisting
determined attempts to capture it for a year.

By Tom Leonard in New York
Published: 6:39PM GMT 24 Mar 2010

The so-called Mystery Monkey of Tampa Bay has managed to rise above
the jumble of exotic animals, including pythons and big cats, usually
on the loose in the state, earning its own Facebook page with more
than 24,000 fans.

The creature, native to southern Asia, has been shot several times
with tranquiliser darts and has proved equally elusive in urban areas
as in dense woodland. Seemingly unfazed by humans, it has been spotted
several times relaxing beside people's swimming pools.

Officials are not sure where the monkey came from, but a popular
theory is that it became separated from a troop of wild monkeys in a
state park around 118 miles north of its current stalking ground. The
troop is descended from animals originally imported to star in early
Tarzan films.

"He is an extremely intelligent monkey. He is very, very streetwise,"
said Vernon Yates, a wildlife trapper who said he had pursued the
monkey across three counties.

"He knows to check traffic. He knows to look both ways so he doesn't
get hit by cars. He knows to stay out of power lines," he said.

Mr Yates claimed to have hit the animal with tranquilliser darts at
least twice. On one occasion, the monkey displayed its contempt for
the attack by flinging faeces at the hunter before climbing higher
into a tree to sleep off the effects of the dart.

Wildlife officials have warned that the fugitive should not be underestimated.

"That animal is so much quicker and more powerful than people
perceived. People have no idea how fierce their bites would be," said
Gary Morse of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.