Coool Hand Luke
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 7, 2006
- Posts
- 857
A man smuggled a monkey onto an airplane Tuesday, stashing the
furry fist-size primate under his hat until passengers spotted it perched on
his ponytail, an airline official said.
The monkey escapade began in Lima, Peru, late Monday, when the man boarded a
flight to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., said Spirit Airlines spokeswoman Alison
Russell. After landing Tuesday morning, the man waited several hours before
catching a connecting flight to LaGuardia Airport.
During the flight, people around the man noticed that the marmoset, which
normally lives in forests and eats fruit and insects, had emerged from
underneath his hat, Russell said.
"Other passengers asked the man if he knew he had a monkey on him," she
said.
The monkey spent the remainder of the flight in the man's seat and behaved
well, said Russell, who didn't know how it skirted customs and security.
Airport police were waiting for the man and his monkey when the plane landed
about 3 p.m., and the man was taken away for questioning. It was unclear
whether he would face any criminal charges.
The city's animal control agency said the monkey appeared healthy. But the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was planning to take it for disease
testing and keep it quarantined for 31 days, CDC spokesman Tom Skinner said.
If the monkey is healthy, it could wind up in a zoo.
"It is kind of a spirited monkey," Russell said. "That will be the nickname
of the monkey: Spirit."
furry fist-size primate under his hat until passengers spotted it perched on
his ponytail, an airline official said.
The monkey escapade began in Lima, Peru, late Monday, when the man boarded a
flight to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., said Spirit Airlines spokeswoman Alison
Russell. After landing Tuesday morning, the man waited several hours before
catching a connecting flight to LaGuardia Airport.
During the flight, people around the man noticed that the marmoset, which
normally lives in forests and eats fruit and insects, had emerged from
underneath his hat, Russell said.
"Other passengers asked the man if he knew he had a monkey on him," she
said.
The monkey spent the remainder of the flight in the man's seat and behaved
well, said Russell, who didn't know how it skirted customs and security.
Airport police were waiting for the man and his monkey when the plane landed
about 3 p.m., and the man was taken away for questioning. It was unclear
whether he would face any criminal charges.
The city's animal control agency said the monkey appeared healthy. But the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was planning to take it for disease
testing and keep it quarantined for 31 days, CDC spokesman Tom Skinner said.
If the monkey is healthy, it could wind up in a zoo.
"It is kind of a spirited monkey," Russell said. "That will be the nickname
of the monkey: Spirit."