Escaped monkey who 'went for a stroll' is home safe

Killian McLaughlin with Joey the capuchin monkey

There was some serious monkey business after a primate was spotted climbing on a fence at Buncrana Pier in County Donegal.

Joey, a South American capuchin monkey, "went for a stroll" after he escaped from his habitat in the back garden of Killian McLaughlin's house.

Mr McLaughlin is the founder and director of Wild Ireland Sanctuary, which started out at his home but is now located in nearby Burnfoot but Joey still lives at Mr McLaughlin's Buncrana home.

The pier is around 100 meters away and Joey was first spotted by members of Buncrana RNLI who posted video footage of Joey on social media.

In a caption they said: "We're always on the lookout for new crew members, but we had to turn this little guy away.

"Is anyone missing a monkey? He's currently down at our berth on Buncrana Pier."

Mr McLaughlin said as soon as he heard that Joey had escaped he travelled back from the Wild Ireland Sanctuary to recapture him.

"Joey was one of the original rescue animals at Wild Ireland and has been with me for 25 years," he explained.

"He got out and went for a stroll around the shore. I don't know why he went that far but he is back in his habitat and the lock has been changed."

Mr McLaughlin said Joey lives with three other capuchin monkeys - Jackie, Max and Susie - in his garden habitat.

Capuchin monkey earned their name because they have a distinctive pattern on their heads, reminiscent of the cowls worn by Capuchin monks.

Joey on a fence at Buncrana Pier in Co Donegal

Mr McLaughlin started giving shelter to animals at his home when he was a child.

The Wild Ireland Sanctuary moved to its present location at Burnfoot in what it described as a "Celtic rainforest" in 2019.

There are now more than 360 rescue animals there, including bears, wolves, lynxes and arctic foxes.

Mr McLaughlin, who has a licence to keep wild animals, said he kept the four monkeys in their original location because they had not settled.

"They live in three interconnected areas and they are very social animals and very intelligent - obviously to the extent that they can even pick locks," he said.

"It should be stressed that monkeys do not make good pets," he said.

Mr McLaughlin thanked the RNLI and members of the Garda (Irish police), who helped seal off the area and keep onlookers back while he recaptured Joey.