Where Are They Now: the Ikea Monkey
Darwin the Ikea monkey has finally settled into his new home, reports the Toronto Star. And no, it's not furnished with umlaut-happy furniture.
Dawrin was seized by animal authorities last year after he was found wandering a Toronto Ikea parking lot dressed in an extremely fashionable shearling coat and a diaper. The Japanese macaque was moved to the Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary in Ontario shortly after the incident and appears to be there for good, despite a failed lawsuit and recent appeal launched by his former owner.
Darwin's time among humans seems to have given him a bit of an inferiority complex, according to his keepers:
"When he came to us, he was lacking in confidence and unsure how to act around other monkeys," said Izzy Hirji, chair of the sanctuary's board of directors. "Through being able to see and interact with the other guys, he's growing into a healthy, confident adolescent."
Yes, a 19-month-old monkey probably has more self-esteem than you did as a teenager. But, then, Darwin is having to learn how to behave like his own species. Darwin isn't ready to meet other macaques within his enclosure, and sometimes he throws fits when he's not the center of attention, but his handlers are glad that he's "learning how to be a monkey again."
Come to think of it, he sounds like a lot of human teenagers we know.
[image via @dzd_lisa/Instagram]