Michael Beran, owner of Wildlife Command Center in Imperial, was skeptical when he received the call that an Imperial woman found a monkey in her garage.
However, his skepticism quickly vanished when his marketing manager told him the woman had shown her the monkey through Facetime.
“I was like, ‘Yeah, right,’” Beran said. “Do you know how many times I hear that? Everyone sees monkeys everywhere.
“The woman called our marketing manager. The interesting thing on the call she goes, ‘Yeah, it is a monkey, just like the one on (the TV show) ‘Friends.’”
Beran was called to the home on Tuesday, Feb. 24.
He said he has received approximately 200 calls since he started his business in 2010 in Shreveport, La., and responded to at least 15 of those calls.
Beran said he entered the garage through a side door and heard the monkey right way.
“This is the first time there has actually been a monkey,” said Beran, who relocated to the St. Louis area in 2014. “My first thing was ‘how am I going to do this?’ My nickname is ‘Bare hands Beran.’ I capture animals barehanded.
“I am like man, not only are monkeys so much stronger than you think they are and they bite.”
At first, he tried to lure the monkey, whose name is Chico, into a dog kennel that was in the garage. However, the monkey kept jumping on top of the kennel but would not go inside.
He said he caught a break when the monkey jumped onto the woman’s shoulder.
“The homeowner was standing on steps that led to a door that went into a laundry room,” he said. “The monkey all of the sudden decided to jump on the homeowner’s shoulder. She opened the door to get away, and the monkey slipped inside the laundry room. In a smaller, tighter space, I had an easier time getting my hands on the monkey.”
Beran said it took about 15 minutes to catch the monkey. He said he put the monkey in a carrier crate and took it to an area veterinarian.
About an hour after he left the Imperial home, Beran said a Jefferson County 911 dispatcher contacted his company about a lost pet monkey.
“(Jefferson County 911) were like, ‘We got this report of a missing a primate. We wanted to know if you had seen it or gotten a call,’” he said. “I was like, ‘As a matter of fact, we do.’”
Beran said the monkey had an identification chip and the owner, who lives in Imperial, had the proper paperwork to prove ownership. Pet capuchin monkeys must be registered with local law enforcement and the owner must have a permit from the Missouri Department of Agriculture.
“We were able to verify that it belonged to that person,” he said. “The whole thing ended up very well.”
Beran said the call to remove a monkey is the second most unique situation he has encountered since starting his animal removal business.
“My craziest call ended up being a green anaconda in a lady’s toilet in Lafayette, La.,” he said. “This is No. 2, but only because, it went so smoothly.”
For information about Wildlife Command Center, go to wildlifecommandcenter.com or call 314-399-8272.