Missing monkey turns up in house

Marmosets are known to forage for insects

A marmoset monkey missing from a Bedfordshire safari park surprised a family when it suddenly turned up on a curtain rail in their house.

Two-year-old Kite, who went missing from Woburn Safari Park, appeared at a house in nearby Aspley Guise.

Gemma Peck, 18, was eating breakfast and watching TV when her boyfriend Colin Hinder, 21, noticed Kite.

Safari park staff were alerted and Kite was returned to his proper home.

Kite's twin, Ponty, is still missing following last week's escape.

'Watching television'

Miss Peck's mother, Jean, said her daughter and boyfriend thought it was a stuffed, motorised toy.

"It just kept moving its head backwards and forwards watching all that was going on," she said. "The television was on so he was probably watching a bit."

Finding a marmoset outside the boundary of the park is unprecedented Dr Jake Veasey

A spokesman for the safari park said the marmosets were free-ranging animals and it was not unusual for them to forage in the woods within the park for several days at a time.

"It is therefore highly probable that Ponty is within the boundary of the 3,000 acre walled Woburn estate," the spokesperson said.

Dr Jake Veasey, head of animals and conservation, said: "Marmosets live on insects and Ponty was probably following these insects in the hedgerows and woodland around Woburn Safari Park when she got lost.

"Finding a marmoset outside the boundary of the park is unprecedented and Woburn Safari Park will be monitoring the group carefully for the next couple of weeks to understand why this happened. "

Marmosets are small primates, about 6ins (15cm) tall and originate from Brazil.

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