On this episode of What happened to…?, Erica Vella revisits Darwin the Ikea monkey, a seven-month-old Japanese macaque who went viral after running loose in a Toronto Ikea.
In 2012, video of a baby monkey running around in a faux-shearling coat at a North York Ikea garnered international attention.
On Dec. 9 2012, Darwin escaped a locked crate and vehicle before making a dash toward the furniture store.
“(I thought) this is absolutely ridiculous that there would be a monkey wearing clothes, walking around in Canada in the middle of winter. It just doesn’t make any sense whatsoever and just really, you start to think about how did he get to that position, how did he get to be a pet in the first place?” said Dania Leipa, executive director of Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary.
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Leipa was volunteering with the primate sanctuary at the time when she learned about the incident.
“I actually found out about it from the sanctuary point of view rather than through the news,” she said.
“But it was it was a very difficult time at the sanctuary because it did become such a sensation and because it did becoming quite polarizing, because there (were) some people who believe that monkeys should or could be kept as pets.”
Darwin was taken away by Toronto Animal Services and turned over to the primate sanctuary but a legal battle ensued involving the monkey’s previous owner.
“Within a day or two of Darwin being transferred by Toronto Animal Services to the sanctuary, Darwin’s former owner, a real estate and corporate lawyer named Yasmin Nakhuda, had threatened legal proceedings,” said Kevin Toyne, the lawyer representing the sanctuary.
“Ultimately, she wanted what she said was her monkey returned to her on a permanent basis.”
On this episode of What happened to…?, Erica learns about the legal battle for Darwin and finds out where the monkey is now. She also speaks with experts about the illegal exotic animal trade to see how much of an issue it is in North America.
Contact:
Email: erica.vella@globalnews.ca
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