TORONTO – Many have speculated why a seven-month-old monkey named “Darwin,” widely referred to as the “IKEA Monkey,” escaped from his owner’s car Sunday to venture through an IKEA parking lot in Toronto.
Was it the lingering scent of the Swedish meatballs, or the inability to pass up a good furniture deal? Or was he simply trying to find his mother, Yasmin Nakhuda, who said the monkey rarely left her side when they were at home.
The jokes are never-ending now that IKEA Monkey has become an international news sensation.
The story of Darwin’s great escape has spread as far as the U.K. and Ireland. BBC picked up the story Monday, after it was announced the monkey would be transferred to a sanctuary.
The Irish Times website reported Tuesday the monkey was “clad up in a button-up sheepskin jacket” while “wearing a nappy.”
The Guardian’s website read, “Hey! Tiny Spender: monkey found roaming Toronto IKEA store.”
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Many websites were enamored with the primate’s choice of fashion.
“Amid the carbon-copied TV stands and self-assembled couches at a Toronto IKEA, a master of style was spotted this weekend, in the form of a baby monkey wearing a fitted shearling coat,” wrote TIME on Monday.
But Darwin’s story wasn’t just great for headlines – it also caused a frenzy of internet memes and jokes that made their way onto social media trend sites such as Buzzfeed and Mashable.
“Everyone loves the IKEA Monkey,” wrote Gawker in their compilation of the best of the IKEA monkey memes.
Darwin has since been transferred to an animal sanctuary in Sunderland, Ontario, but his owner said Tuesday she is concerned about his well-being at the facility and will fight to get him back.
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