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Mystery shrouds monkey sightings in Qualicum Beach area

A mysterious monkey may be on the loose in a Qualicum Beach- area community.
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Monkey sightings: A small monkey wearing a winter coat and a diaper apparently looks for its owners at an IKEA in Toronto on Sunday Dec. 9, 2012. An official with a Toronto animal shelter holding a monkey found wandering in an Ikea parking lot says the five-month-old primate appears a bit stressed but is otherwise in good shape. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, Bronwyn Page

A mysterious monkey may be on the loose in a Qualicum Beach- area community.

The Ministry of Environment and local police confirmed a report had come in Sunday afternoon of a possible monkey sighting in the rural neighbourhood of Meadowood, just west of Qualicum Beach, reported the Parksville Qualicum Beach News.

“Complainant reported seeing a 2.5-foot high monkey in his driveway which then ran off,” read a statement from the Ministry of Environment. “Complainant’s description of the animal and his demeanour was credible enough to warrant response to the site.”

RCMP also confirmed they had received a call about the monkey but that they found nothing in their searches Sunday.

“We attended (Sunday) and didn’t find anything,” Oceanside RCMP Cpl. Jess Foreman told the Parksville Qualicum Beach News. “We called the conservation officer, who said there was no one licensed in that area to own a monkey.”

As of Tuesday morning, the Ministry of Environment said the report is considered “unsubstantiated.”

A local business, however, posted to its Facebook page, confirming glimpses of the monkey in the community.

“Yes folks you have heard right,” the store wrote Monday. “There is a monkey running around Meadowood.”The store posted again on Tuesday, relaying witnesses’ description of the monkey as 3-feet-tall, with a red face and a grey coat.

“To us that sounds like a Japanese Macaque famous for living in snow and hanging out in hot springs.”

Conservation officers and police then canvassed the area but no monkey was found, as of Tuesday. There is also no record of anyone owning a monkey in the surrounding area.