A monkey left residents stunned after being spotted wondering down a road in a leafy part of rural England.
Locals shared the sighting on social media after the prowling primate was spotted on the outskirts of Stroud in Gloucestershire.
One user wondered if the monkey had escaped from its owner.
Melody Bayly posted on the Whiteshill & Ruscombe Community Facebook group: “Strange question, but is anyone looking for a lost monkey?!
The monkey could be a Langur, a resident has claimed
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“Seen walking down across the fields from Whiteshill to the main road.
“My mother in law who also saw it and grew up in India thinks it's a spectacled langur.”
Several users dismissed Bayly’s suggestion but others appeared to add their own accounts of spotting the monkey.
A local resident claimed the money was "running north away from Stroud heading towards Painswick".
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An image on the approach to Whiteshill
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Another expressed concern for the primate wondering around in "such freezing conditions".
However, the sighting near Stroud is not the first time a monkey has been roaming Britain freely.
A monkey was filmed running around an area of woodland near Canterbury in Kent in 2022.
A pair of primates also escaped from a private collection in the Forest of Dean almost two decades ago.
Documentary filmmaker and wildlife expert Tim Whittard said: “Many people may not realise that there are 85 species of monkey which can be legally purchased in Britain, without a license - as easily as a goldfish or hamster.”
An image along the Main Road in Whiteshill
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The RSPCA echoed Whittard’s remarks about the number of monkeys owned by Britons.
Estimates suggest around 5,000 monkeys currently live in the UK.
The Animal Welfare Bill, which is still going through the House of Commons, will make it harder for members of the public to legally call these animals pets.
The RSPCA also warns primates should not be kept as pets and is calling for a ban on buying, selling and keeping primates.
It claimed monkeys are potentially dangerous, not suitable house pets, need specialist diets, incur health problems, need companionship and often require the company of other primates.
