SUNDERLAND, Ont. – The Ikea monkey has shed his shearling coat and may soon be moving to a new home.
Darwin has now been at Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary for two years, ever since he was scooped up in a Toronto Ikea parking lot wearing the coat – and diaper – that made him an international celebrity.
The sanctuary, in Sunderland, Ont., is fundraising to move to a new, bigger property nearby that currently houses an exotic animal ranch.
They have raised about $10,000 so far but are still well off their goal of “a couple hundred thousand.”
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“Darwin has become known worldwide and we really saw that as an education opportunity as well,” said sanctuary volunteer Rachelle Hansen.
“Because people see the picture with him in the coat and say, ‘Oh I love Darwin he’s so great,’ but then for people to understand that he’s going to live at least another 40 years if not more…there’s a whole life behind that,” she said.
“So we wanted to have Darwin as the ambassador for monkeys that come out of the pet situation.”
The sanctuary opened its doors to media Friday for a glimpse at Darwin – or “Boo Boo” or “Dar Dar,” as the sanctuary volunteers call him.
The Japanese macaque, who has doubled in size from the time of his IKEA adventure, bounced around his cage for hours, swinging from ropes and climbing the bars.
“His coat’s coming in very beautifully,” Hansen said. “We’re thrilled when we see him do normal macaque behaviour.”
Before Darwin came to the sanctuary he lived with Yasmin Nakhuda, who called herself his “mom.”
It was from her car that he escaped that day at Ikea. The monkey became the subject of a prolonged, heated court battle, that ultimately saw Nakhuda lose possession of him for good.
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