“Gibo” was recaptured in the nature park nearly 24 hours after he escaped.
“He escaped past 3 p.m. on Wednesday and was recaptured around 6 a.m. on Thursday,” said Kent Rizon, head of the town’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (DRRMO).
The town’s nature park has four monkeys. Gibo was the only one to escape from the park, not two as earlier reported.
Rizon confirmed that Gibo bit a woman and an elderly man while he was on the loose.
A video footage showing Gibo attacking a female motorcycle back rider in the town plaza has circulated online. The town plaza is just several meters from the nature park.
Rizon said Gibo may have turned aggressive after he escaped because of hunger. “It was his first time that he got out of his cage. He is also not used to being in a crowded people,” said Rizon.
Gibo escaped through the ceiling of his cage that was damaged due to typhoon “Odette” last year. The damage caused by the typhoon caused the park to temporary close to undergo rehabilitation.
“He is domesticated. It was expected that he will return to the park because there are a lot of trees there. It is where they get their food,” said Rizon.
Rizon said the caretaker of the park was instructed to ensure that Gibo is secured in his cage. “We told the caretaker to ensure that he could no longer escape because it is not easy to recapture him. The municipality shouldered the medical expenses of the two persons that Gibo bit,” said Rizon.
The two persons bitten by Gibo were given anti-tetanus and anti-rabies shots, Rizon said.