After a three-day dragnet, authorities at last collared a baboon on the loose from Six Flags amusement park.
Sighted by several residents in Jackson Township on Friday, police apprehended the red-bottomed primate in Howell Township on Saturday afternoon.
It was spotted on a farm a few miles from Six Flags and police were called.
Police tranquilized the baboon and returned the animal to Six Flags.
"When I took a bale of hay, put it in front of me, he jumped right back down to the ground," said Alain Robillard, the farm worker who spotted the monkey and called police. "I don't know if he used a door, and he was in the back of the barn, and that's when the policeman tranquilized him and he went underneath the trailer over there."
Police believed the monkey was a runaway from the Monkey Jungle section of the Six Flags Great Adventure Amusement Park. Representatives from Six Flags said on Friday they were not one hundred percent certain the monkey being sighted belonged to them, because they do not perform regular counts, but regarded it as highly likely.
The appearance of the dog-sized baboon shocked many Central Jersey suburbanites. A woman told NBC Philadelphia the primate popped up on her porch; another man said the monkey grabbed the handle of his lawn mower. The monkey also ambled onto an area golf course, but was off the greens by the time authorities arrived.
Local
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
Police said the animals are not typically aggressive.
Fan, follow and download: Get the latest from NBCPhiladelphia.com anytime, anywhere. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and NBC Philadelphia. Sign up for our breaking news newsletter. And, get breaking news delivered right to your mobile phone -- just text PHIBREAKING to 639710 to sign up. (Message and data rates may apply.)
