A Scottish wildlife park sent drones with thermal cameras after a monkey vanished, but Luka solved the search himself

Luka, a five-year-old Japanese macaque, escaped his enclosure at the Highland Wildlife Park near Aviemore in the Cairngorms National Park overnight on August 16. The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland launched a search operation shortly after his disappearance was discovered.

As reported by Dexerto, staff deployed drones equipped with thermal imaging cameras to scan the surrounding area, focusing on the nearby Balavil area where the macaque was last spotted. Officials asked the public to keep their distance but confirmed Luka was not considered a danger to people or pets.

The search reached an unexpected conclusion on August 17 when the park announced Luka had returned to his habitat on his own, without the need for a tranquilizer or a rescue team. Darren McGarry, head of animal care at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, confirmed the outcome in a statement shared by the park.

The park explained why the escape likely happened in the first place

“The search has concluded successfully, and Luka is safely back in our care,” McGarry said in the statement. He added that primate group dynamics can be complex, and that it is not unusual for male macaques to be pushed out of a group, which can prompt this kind of escape.

The macaque will receive a full veterinary checkup before keepers attempt to reintroduce him to his group. Elsewhere in the news cycle this week, a Brazilian lagoon dive discovery also drew attention online after divers were unable to find the bottom.

This is not the first time the park has dealt with an escaped macaque. Just over two years earlier, another Japanese macaque named Honshu spent nearly a week on the run, from January 28 until February 1, 2024, prompting a search that also involved drones, thermal imaging, and help from the Cairngorms Mountain Rescue team.

Honshu was eventually spotted by a member of the public eating from a bird feeder in their garden, and keepers were able to tranquilize him safely. Following that incident, the park added stronger fencing and updated management procedures, and Honshu was later moved to Edinburgh Zoo to join a new group of sub-adult males. Amid a busier week for animal and nature stories, a wild game processing ban at Cornell also made headlines after students skinned a bear in a dorm.

The park has not indicated any further changes to its enclosures or procedures following Luka’s return.