Cartridge Monkey

A week in the life of SpongeBob the monkey

Friday 21 July, 2006

He went missing, travelled 19km, and was found again in the space of five days. That's the experience of monkey-of-the-moment SpongeBob.

It emerged earlier this week that SpongeBob, an endangered squirrel monkey who usually resides at Chessington World of Adventures in Surrey, had gone missing.

But SpongeBob's disappearance led to a huge media campaign, urging members of the public to keep their monkey-spotting wits about them in the search for the two-year-old, who shares his cage with nine female monkeys.

And last night the publicity paid off as SpongeBob was returned home after being found by a member of the public, who contacted the police. Unsurprisingly, handlers at Chessington were delighted to see the return of their favourite monkey.

"We are so very happy to have Bob back with us and would like to thank everyone who helped appeal for his safe return," said Sonia Freeman, head of mammals at the zoo at Chessington World of Adventures.

"Bob is still very upset and unsettled, and he has clearly been through a disturbing experience. He has lost a lot of weight and he is obviously hungry and stressed. He is being cared for by the zoo vet and his keepers here at the zoo, and we are hopeful he will get back to his normal, playful self soon."

It is not yet known whether SpongeBob was monkey-napped or whether he made the 19km trip to south London, where he was found, on his own.

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A week in the life of SpongeBob the monkey

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