New 'Mystery Monkey' Loose in Tampa Bay

Move over Cornelius, there’s a new Mystery Monkey in town.

Reports of the critter began coming into the Tampa Police Department on Thanksgiving Day. The first was called in around 2:30 p.m. when a resident spotted a monkey along West Hiawatha Street. About an hour later, another call came in that a monkey was spotted running on Sligh Avenue near the bridge. That’s about 12 blocks away.

The critter was described by callers as being about 3 feet tall, brown and “fast,” the police department’s Facebook page stated.

Thinking the monkey somehow sprung itself from nearby Lowry Park Zoo, patrol officers checked in with the Tampa attraction. They discovered, however, that all the zoo’s “monkeys were accounted for.”

“There is no probable cause for this monkey’s arrest, however, we will work tirelessly to apprehend him,” the department wrote.

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At this point, police are unsure where the critter might be hiding out, who it belongs to or even what primate species it happens to be. Anyone who spots it is asked to call the Tampa Police Department at 813-231-6130.

With only two sightings so far, it’s also unclear if this escapee will gain the notoriety of Tampa’s legendary “Mystery Monkey.”

Cornelius, as he’s now called, made national headlines during his time as a fugitive. The little rhesus macaque eluded capture for years while working his way through Pasco, Pinellas and Hillsborough counties. The critter, believed to have been cast out of a colony in Silver Springs, was also accused of biting a woman during his lengthy life on the lam in Pinellas County.

The Mystery Monkey, who was renamed Cornelius after a character in “The Planet of the Apes,” earned such a strong following, he even has his own Facebook page. His story was twice featured on Comedy Central’s “Colbert Report,” taking the name of the Mystery Monkey of Tampa Bay national.

Cornelius was captured back in October 2012 and was put in quarantine at a Safety Harbor animal hospital for a time. His eventual fate remained in the balance until it was announced he would join the other animals living at Dade City’s Wild Things zoo.

Cornelius became a Tampa Bay celebrity during his years on the lam.