SANFORD, Fla. — A monkey that was on the loose in a Sanford neighborhood Monday has been reunited with its owner.
FWC said the macaque monkey named Zeke escaped its owner's home and was roaming the area around Live Oak Boulevard and Sugar Maple Court.
The Sanford Police Department said shortly after 8 a.m. Monday they received a call from a resident who lives in the Hidden Lakes subdivision, reporting that a monkey was eating mail out of a mailbox.
Photos: Monkey on the loose in Sanford
Police said the monkey was pulling the molding from one their patrol cars and hopping on them. Officers said they were able to distract Zeke with a bottle of water until its owner came home.
"Basically it was just riding on top of the police car from the corner," said neighbor Sherry Meehan. "Then it jumped off and the owner came home and the owner embraced the monkey in his arms and put him back in his cage. It was a peaceful surrender."
"It was just a monkey being a monkey. I think it tore some of the molding off of one of the patrol cars, but it wasn't like it was aggressive. It didn't bite anybody - just playing," said FWC investigator Steve McDaniel.
"It's concerning of course because it's close to your house, it's a wild animal," resident Sherry Meehen said.
Greg Workman of Florida Fish and Wildlife said the monkey somehow escaped by twisting parts of the cage.
Zeke's owner, Jeff Jacques of Sanford, has a permit and is licensed to own the monkey.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission officers quelled any fears in the neighborhood.
"He’s licensed and it doesn’t look like it was any fault of the owner," said McDaniel. "The monkey just figured out a way through some of the caging that he had. He had the proper caging, the proper gauge wire. It was locked up."
It's not the first time Zeke has caused concern in the Hidden Lakes Subdivision.
He escaped his enclosure in 2012 and spent four hours on the run.
Following that escape Jacques told Channel 9 that Zeke ripped open part of his cage to gain his freedom.
"He is a Houdini -- extremely strong and getting stronger," Jacques said.
Police said Zeke bit two people in the neighborhood in 2012.
WFTV
