A MONKEY which escaped from a wildlife park in the Highlands four days ago has been found and captured two miles from his enclosure.

The macaque left the wildlife park near Kingussie on Sunday after finding a way out of his enclosure, and drone footage captured on Tuesday showed him roaming about underneath trees and sitting in undergrowth to have a look about before loping off.

The monkey was found eating from a birdfeeder in a public garden two miles from the park. He was then tranquilised and checked over by staff from the Highland Wildlife Park.

The monkey, which has been nicknamed Kingussie Kong, was not in a position from which keepers could retrieve him on Tuesday.

The macaque was around 300 metres (roughly 980ft) north of the entry to the park in the footage captured on Tuesday.

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The Japanese macaque, also known as the snow monkey, is the most northerly living non-human primate, according to the Royal Zoological Society Scotland.

People in the area had been urged to bring in any food that is stored outside to encourage the monkey to return to the park when it is hungry, and were advised not to approach the animal.

Keith Gilchrist, living collections operations manager at Highland Wildlife Park said: “We can confirm we have successfully caught the macaque that escaped from the park on Sunday named Honshu.

"After a call to our hotline just after 10am, our keepers and drone team made their way to a member of the public’s garden where the monkey was eating from a birdfeeder and successfully used a tranquiliser dart to catch him.

“The monkey is on the way back to the park with our keepers where he will be looked over by one of our vet team and reintroduced to sub-adult males within the group."

“We want to thank everyone who has helped during the process and will continue to share any further updates.”