In California, a 911 dispatcher dispatched police to the area of a caller who did not respond after dialing.
According to KCCI, the call was actually from a zoo, and the caller on the other end of the line was really a 10-month-old monkey.
Route, a capuchin monkey, was attempting to play with a work phone at an animal conservation residence in Paso Robles recently when the mishap occurred.
“Capuchin monkeys are amazing. There are tool users. They’re so smart,” zoo director Lisa Jackson told KEYT. “She’s got thumbs and she’s got more than enough ability. She sees me all the time texting and playing with the phone. So I think that’s pretty much what she did.”
Route made the call, according to Jackson, using a mobile left in a golf cart that members of staff use to reach all 40 acres of the property.
“Our dispatchers tried to respond back, call back, text back, no response. So in cases like that, we always send deputies out to investigate,” said Tony Cipolla of the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office.
When deputies arrived, zoo employees had no idea what had happened, according to Jackson.
“When the sheriff’s officers showed up, we’re like, ‘hi, officers, what can we help you with?’ And then they told us what happened,” she said. “And I said, ‘Oh my gosh, that was Route.’ And the first thing I said was, ‘I am so sorry.'”
Officials from the sheriff’s office stated on Facebook that “deputies have seen their fair share of ‘monkey business’ but nothing at this level
“A lot of times it’ll be kids. It’ll be somebody who basically pocket dials,” Cipolla said. “The deputies were just flabbergasted because it’s just like how can you be mad at a little monkey?”
