THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The whereabouts of the female Hanuman monkey (Gray Langur) that jumped out of its enclosure at the zoo continues to be unclear. Zoo staff are conducting an extensive search to find the three-year-old female monkey that jumped into the fire on Tuesday.

The monkey, which had entered the Nanthancode area the previous day, later returned to the zoo and got on a wild jackfruit tree near the bison enclosure. But since this morning, the monkey went missing from the tree, which has made the staff worried. The locals informed that the monkey was seen in Kuravankonam and Ambalamukku but could not be found in a subsequent search. The search is on in the zoo premises and in the areas where the monkey was reported to have been spotted.

The monkey that escaped the enclosure was a new member at the zoo as part of a transfer of animals. Along with this, two emu and two lions were newly brought here. In the footage released after the incident, the monkey can be seen running out of the cage and climbing the trees. The monkey sitting on top of the tree was shown its favourite food to come down but it did not bother. The minister reiterates that there was no lack of caution when the monkey was released to the enclosure.