(AU) Curious monkey lost at sea

November 10, 2006

Curious monkey lost at sea

By Nick Butterly

news.com.au

November 10, 2006

A MONKEY spotted aboard a Chinese cargo ship bound for Sydney may have been

blown overboard by a typhoon, Australian quarantine officials said today.

Crew on the freighter spotted the monkey sitting on top of a container about two

weeks ago and reported it to the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service

(AQIS).

Blurry photos of the creature were sent to experts at Taronga zoo, who

tentatively identified it as a rhesus macaque monkey.

Australian authorities warned the ship it will not be permitted to dock unless

the monkey was caught or " dealt with " in an appropriate - and humane - manner.

But by the time the ship arrived off Sydney yesterday the seafaring monkey had

not been seen by crew for almost a week, despite food and water being left out

for it.

A spokesman for AQIS said the crew reported that the ship had sailed through a

typhoon between Australia and China, and the monkey may have been blown

overboard.

" It (the typhoon) may well have created a situation where the monkey was not

able to stay onboard, " the spokesman speculated.

The ship docked in Sydney yesterday and an AQIS team of vets and animal handlers

boarded the vessel but found no sign of it.

It was allowed to unload its cargo under supervision and is now sailing to

Melbourne where it will again have to unload its cargo under supervision of

AQIS.

" It is now sailing for Melbourne where it will be allowed to dock and make a

supervised discharge (of cargo), " the spokesman said.

The agency would not name the vessel.

The AQIS spokesman said it was fairly common for animals to mysteriously appear

aboard incoming cargo ships, though a stowaway monkey was highly unusual.

" We've had dogs, cats, bats ... we certainly don't get many monkeys, " the

spokesman said earlier this week.

Quarantine officials had feared the monkey could be carrying rabies or other

diseases.

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