Monkey see, monkey do: Police respond after mischievous monkey accidentally calls 911
A 911 dispatcher in California sent police to the location of a caller who didn't respond after dialing.
Turns out, the call came from a zoo and the caller at the other end of the line was a 10-month-old monkey.
Route, a capuchin monkey, caused the mishap while he was playing with a company phone at a wildlife conservation home in Paso Robles recently.
"Capuchin monkeys are amazing. There are tool users. They're so smart," zoo director Lisa Jackson . "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."
Jackson said Route placed the call using a phone that was left in a golf cart that staff members use to access 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.
Jackson said zoo staff members didn't know what happened when deputies arrived.
"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.'"
In a Facebook post, officials from the sheriff's office said "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?"