You've likely seen the "IKEA monkey," as after photos of him surfaced online last year, he became an instant online celebrity and the source of a variety of memes. CNN has an update on tiny monkey found wandering around the furniture store last December in a shearling coat, and the news is not so happy for his owner.
The little monkey was spotted in December wandering around IKEA in Toronto, dressed in a faux shearling coat to protect him from the chilly weather and a diaper. He had reportedly escaped from the parked car of his owner, real-estate lawyer Yasmin Nakhuda, who had obtained the Japanese snow macaque, Darwin, illegally when he was just a month old.
Nakhuda's Youtube channel has plenty of videos of her caring for Darwin and all of the attention he requires. But after Darwin made his public escape and became a famous primate, he was taken away by animal services, and Nakhuda was forced to pay a fine for owning him illegally, though she was determined to get her monkey back.
On Friday, however, Ontario Judge Mary Vallee ruled against Nakhuda, rejecting her lawsuit that claimed animal services had tricked her into illegally giving up Darwin. According to BBC News, Nakhuda was "upset, but was not unduly influenced" when she signed permission to Darwin to be transferred to his sanctuary. CBC News reported that Nakhuda had initially lied about her purchase of Darwin, later claiming that the animal was given to her as a gift.
Judge Vallee said that concerns about the spread of disease were valid reasons for containing the monkey.
"At the beginning, I was told that was the best for him because generally, monkeys live off the back of the mom," Nakhuda told BBC News in December, adding the monkey would "get into a panic attack" when he was out of her sight.
Darwin now resides at the Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary in Sunderland, ON, a home for 23 monkeys who come from a variety of different backgrounds. They did not respond immediately to CNN for comment on the situation.
Although Nakhuda may have lost ownership of her monkey, the internet has also gained a new star. After several people tweeted pictures of him romping around the store, a parody Twitter account appeared, instantly gaining thousands of followers, and he's even spawned his own video game and book series called "The Adventures of Darling Darwin," authored by his former owner, Nakhuda.
The parody Twitter even tweeted about the recent development in Darwin's story, even providing a link to his new sanctuary home, as well as information on how to donate to the organization.
