Well-Dressed IKEA Monkey’s Owner Prepared to Partake in Primate Custody Battle

Though the monkey that was loose in a Toronto IKEA earlier this week was eventually apprehended, and is currently being held by the Toronto Animal Service, the wandering rhesus macaque’s owner isn’t pleased. Darwin — because of course the monkey’s name is Darwin — is currently slated to be sent to an animal sanctuary. Yasmin Nakhuda, the monkey’s master and a real estate lawyer, is preparing to take the whole thing to court. She must really want to keep that funky monkey.

According to Sun News, Nakhuda truly wants what’s best for Darwin. It just so happens that what’s best for the monkey in her mind also happens to be not sending it to the sanctuary:

She said part of her concern is when she tried to bring Darwin back to its breeder in Montreal, the monkey became very upset and wouldn’t leave her side.

Darwin had tremendous separation anxiety, Nakhuda said.

It’s pretty obvious that Nakhuda feels strongly about the monkey, given that his little coat was made to measure. It’s not like she bought a child’s coat that just so happened to fit; that thing was tailored.

Where she stands in terms of legality is a bit murky. She’s said she was looking at moving to the country in order to provide more room for her little buddy. Considering that keeping a rhesus macaque as a pet is apparently illegal in Ontario, “country” must mean moving pretty far.

(via Sun News, image courtesy of Lisa Lin)

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