The 2012 internet all-star known the globe over as the “Ikea Monkey” is doing quite well these days, thanks for asking. Heck, he might even have some new roommates in the near future.
In case you forgot or don’t keep up with Canadian monkey news, the guy you see in the picture above was hot sh*t a few years back when he was photographed in a stylish jacket while wandering an Ikea parking lot. Here’s a visual aid in case you forgot.
The Ikea monkey is a 'typical teenager' now and he's getting two new roommates in January https://t.co/NKppclG5Xc pic.twitter.com/1mPPDj7TU2
— CBC Toronto (@CBCToronto) December 9, 2015
Our furry friend was only months old at the time and shortly after the brouhaha he was taken out of the custody of his guardian Yasmin Nadhuka and brought into the care of the Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary in rural Ontario. He’s been in that spot ever since and a chat between Vice and sanctuary co-founder Daina Liepa indicates things are going well for the monkey currently known as Darwin. Liepa shared that the one-time “Ikea Monkey” has never been fan of the spotlight, even from the beginning.
He was actually quite quiet. We would take turns to look after him so that he wouldn’t be too lonely. But now he’s now an adolescent and he’s actually become very shy. When people come to visit, everyone wants to see Darwin but he will hide and it takes a while for him to feel comfortable to come out. But when he’s with us or when he’s on his own, he’s so rambunctious and jumping and swinging and just being a typical monkey.
That’s lovely to hear. And as for the word Liepa thinks best suits Darwin in 2015? It’s “mischievous.” That’s because Darwin acts like “a spoiled teenager” when he doesn’t get his way. And like most teenagers he hates it when people are in his room, messing with his things. According to Liepa, he’s always trying to “rattle the door and get in.”
Speaking of teenage concerns, Darwin might have some potential friends on the way.
We’re hoping that we can introduce him to two macaques, Cody and Puglsey, who are going to be coming to us in January and we’re building a new enclosure for them. These are lab monkeys from a Canadian university, they’ve finished their research. So we’re hoping we can introduce them to him and that they’ll get on well, so their enclosures will be accessible to each other but then with the shift doors, we can separate them if necessary so I think that would be good for him.
If you’d like to become a foster friend of Darwin’s, the option’s available on Story Brook’s official website.
(via Vice)
