Dizzy the Monkey Escapes Enclosure at Zoo

Welcome to Weirdest Thing of the Week, where…well, we point out weird things.

UPDATE, June 24, 8:45 a.m.: Dizzy the monkey returned home safely on Thursday night.

It’s been four days since a monkey named Dizzy escaped from the Zoo in Forest Park in Springfield, and Dizzy seemed to thoroughly enjoy his freedom.

On Tuesday, Dizzy boldly twisted to the door knob to his enclosure and let himself out while a keeper assisted a visitor. According to an update from Forest Park, no animal at the zoo has ever done this before. Dizzy roamed the park at his leisure until he was finally captured on Thursday night. He was then returned to his enclosure.

According to the Boston Globe, Dizzy was found on a ground-level part of the property. A day earlier, officials had been searching for Dizzy in the trees. The monkey successfully stayed out of sight on Wednesday.

“We feel that he is high up in the canopy of trees relaxing and resting,” reads a Forest Park Facebook post from Wednesday.

The 12-pound Guenon monkey is said not to pose as a threat to humans. Though, one can’t be so sure, since Dizzy successfully avoided tranquilizer darts and a cherry picker attempting to scoop him up earlier this week. Zookeepers also tried to lure Dizzy back home with his mate, Mitzy, but had no luck.

Dizzy was almost captured on Tuesday, but scampered away after a child threw his hat at the primate and startled it. The zoo released a statement saying, “We are now pleading with the public and the media to stay away from the zoo until Dizzy is returned safely. This could take days, so we appreciate your cooperation.”

The Zoo in Forest Park was closed while keepers searched for Dizzy. Now that he’s back, the zoo will reopen Friday at 10 a.m.

You can read a full report about Dizzy’s adventures in the Springfield Republican.

Have you noticed funky happenings lately? Tell me about them: mbilis@bostonmagazine.com, @madelinebilis.