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Monkey tricks results in anxious hours at US Consulate
View(s):It took five wildlife officials an entire day to trap the intruder which entered through the ventilator
By Leon Berenger
There were several anxious hours for those inside the US Consulate in Colombo shortly before Christmas after a stray monkey apparently breached the security alarm system and entered the building through the ventilator, Embassy and Wildlife officials said yesterday.
The monkey entered the complex sometime during the early hours on December 20, Wildlife Director -H. B. Ratnayake told the Sunday Times.He said a group of five Wildlife officials were involved in the operation following a request by the US Embassy and it took an entire day before the monkey could be trapped and taken away and returned to the wild.
US Embassy Spokesman Christopher Elms said the monkey had entered the building through the ventilator but refused to say if the security alarm system was breached by the intruder. However, he said, there were anxious moments adding that the local Wildlife officials did a good job.
Meanwhile, the Washington Post newspaper quoting State Department Press Office Acting Director Chris Hensman said the unexpected guest had got stuck in the building’s ventilation system. “The visitor eventually departed the building safely and unharmed after a 24-hour adventure,” he was quoted as saying in the Post.
The monkey was described as a Toque Macaques and a lone male who probably was someone’s pet in the area, Austrian born Wolfgang Dittus who has done extensive research on the behaviour of this particular species in Sri Lanka told the Sunday Times.
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