Following a peanut trail, escaped monkey returns

Conner came home … for the peanuts.

The 17-year-old wedge-capped capuchin monkey, who had been on the loose from the Ramat Gan Safari for week, was recaptured Monday, the park said.

During his week of freedom, keepers set traps for him, eventually luring him with peanuts and other foods, before capturing him, scared, but none the worse for wear.

The rest of the capuchin clan welcomed him back enthusiastically to the park on the outskirts of Tel Aviv and staff treated him with one if his other favorite snack — flour moth caterpillars.

Staff announced that they will make certain modifications to the enclosure to prevent any future escapes.

Capuchin monkeys are native to South America and can cover large distances as they swing between tall trees in the forests. Weighing about three kilograms (6.65 pounds), the wedge-cappeds get their name from a black triangle of dark fur on their heads.

Conner a wedge-capped capuchin monkey is returned to his home in the Ramat Gan Safari park after a week on the run January 23, 2017. (Tibor Jager/Ramat Gan Safari)

As escapees from the wildlife park go, Conner is on the small end of the scale. In March 2016, Tibor, a three-ton white rhinoceros sauntered out of a park exit gate. He was safely returned.

A year earlier, three rhinos plodded out of a side gate, then spent a few minutes gazing at alarmed joggers before safari director Yehuda Bar herded them back inside.

Stuart Winer contributed to this report.