Missing macaque 'Kingussie Kong II' returns home to Highland Wildlife Park

The Japanese macaque, called Luka, fled from his home at the park near Kingussie overnight on Sunday.

A search party, involving thermal imaging drones, was launched on Monday to try and find the escapee.

But it was called off after the wandering primate returned home and managed to get back into his enclosure by himself..

Luka is now being assessed by the park’s vet team,

Darren McGarry, head of animal care at RZSS, said: “The search has concluded successfully and Luka is safely back in our care. He will now be looked over by our keepers and veterinary team before being carefully reintroduced to his group.

“We want to thank everyone who has helped during the search particularly those who supported our teams.

“Luka arrived home on his own accord and we are delighted to have him safely back at the park.”

It comes just two years after the park faced a similar escape incident with the exact same species of monkey.

Honshu, dubbed by the media and locals as “Kingussie Kong” or “King-craig Kong” after the locations where he was spotted, was on the loose in the highlands for about five days.

His escape captured widespread attention before he was recaptured safely after being found in a back garden in Kincraig. He was spotted eating out of a bird feeder after being lured to the property by left over Yorkshire pudding.

However it was no easy return home for Honshu.

Keepers decided not to reintroduce him to his original troop at the park of nearly 40 animals because complex group dynamics and his time away made reintegration too difficult.

Mr McGarry added: “Primate group dynamics can be very complex and males being forced out of a group is not uncommon.”

Instead, he was moved to Edinburgh Zoo with three other young males to form a new mini-troop.

The RZSS said it did not know how Luka escaped.

The charity reportedly said fencing was improved and different management protocols were introduced following the Honshu incident.

The Japanese macaque, also known as a snow monkey, is about the size of a medium-sized dog once it reaches adulthood.

At the time Honshu escaped, in January 2024, RZSS said he may have been trying to avoid a fight with others in the group he lived with when he escaped.

The troop was in the midst of its breeding season and keepers said tensions could sometimes run high.

Almost a year later to the day of the Honshu incident, four lynx cubs were found dumped near a farm just a few miles from the Highland Wildlife Park.

Investigations are ongoing into why they were abandoned.

The incident has been blamed on ‘rogue rewilders’ by some, while others suspect they could have been illegally held in captivity and dumped after possibly becoming too difficult or expensive to manage.