Earlier this month, thermal cameras and thermal imaging drones proved integral in searching for an escaped Japanese macaque. It is thought the monkey, called Honshu, ran from his enclosure at Highland Wildlife Park, Kinguisse, to avoid conflict over breeding rights. Nicknamed Kinguisse Kong by locals, Honshu spent five days evading rescuers until he was finally outmanoeuvred by a Yorkshire pudding.[1]
Keepers tracked the monkey through trees and undergrowth using thermal imaging drones. However, a few days into the mission, high winds of 85mph threatened the search as these conditions made the UAVs unusable. Nevertheless, the rescue could continue thanks to handheld thermal imaging cameras and a thoroughly invested local community.
Honshu was initially spotted by Carl Nagle, who noticed the escapee roaming around his garden in Kincraig. He explains:
“I looked out the window and there he was, proud as punch, standing against the fence eating nuts that had fallen down from one of the bird feeders […] He hung out, he looked a bit shifty like he was where he wasn’t supposed to be, which was true.
He wandered around the garden a bit – we thought he’d gone but he came back and then he was up on the bird feeders trying to get into them. He was having a really good go – he worked harder at it than a squirrel.”[2]
~ Carl Nagle
Still, Honshu managed to avoid capture.
He was finally enticed by some leftover Yorkshire pudding in, local resident, Stephanie Banyan’s garden. Speaking to Channel 5 News, Stephanie Banyan revealed:
“We get pheasants in the garden, we’ve had all sorts of wildlife in the garden but never a macaque.”[3]
~ Stephanie Banyan
Unable to resist the draw of Yorkshire pudding, the monkey was safely captured to the great relief of the park staff and the highland community, if not to Honshu himself!
Further Information
At PASS Ltd, we offer a range of handheld thermal cameras and drones suitable for search and rescue and first-response missions. We stock a variety of models by leading brands including Teledyne FLIR, Hikmicro, and Autel Robotics . For additional details, please contact our Sales team on 01642 931 329 or via our online form.
Browse Drones & Thermal Drones
[1] Information for this blog was gathered from the following sources:
- BBC News, Escaped monkey on the loose in Highland village, last accessed 16 February 2024.
- Alexander Butler, ‘Monkey could have been running from fight, zookeeper says’, The Independent via Yahoo!life, last accessed 16 February 2024.
- ITV News, Drone hunt for monkey missing in Scottish Highlands threatened by 85mph winds, last accessed 16 February 2024.
- Ciaran Jenkins, ‘Missing monkey caught after five days in the Scottish Highlands’, Channel 4 News, last accessed 16 February 2024.
- Lydia Patrick, ‘Scottish monkey escape – live: Woman’s leftover Yorkshire pudding lures on-the-run Kinguisse Kong to capture’, The Independent via Yahoo!life, last accessed 16 February 2024.
[2] BBC News, Escaped monkey on the loose in Highland village.
[3] Lydia Patrick, ‘Scottish monkey escape – live: Woman’s leftover Yorkshire pudding lures on-the-run Kinguisse Kong to capture’.
