Beirut: A monkey called Tachtouch escaped from a southern Lebanese village, found his way into northern Israel and triggered unexpected panic among villagers.
Tachtouch, as his owner Sister Beatrice Mauger, a French nun, named him, escaped from a farm in Al Qawzah village.
Last week he was discovered to have gone missing from the farm called ‘Ship of Peace’, an interfaith project on land belonging to the Maronite Church in Bint Jbeil area.
Days later he was seen swinging on balconies, jumping around porches and playing in trees and bushes in northern Israeli villages.
Several videos and photos of Tachtouch went viral across different social media platforms and images of the monkey were shared by alarmed villagers.
“My monkey’s name is Tachtouch. A man found him in the village of Dibel nearly 15 days ago. Tachtouch is from a farm in Tyre and has a passport. Originally he might be Kenyan. He escaped on May 21,” Sister Beatrice told Gulf News.
My veterinarian put him a collar and I placed him in the farm. I came to discover that he had escaped from a hole the wall.
She said the man brought him to her because he knows she looks after animals.
“My veterinarian put him a collar and I placed him in the farm. I came to discover that he had escaped from a hole the wall,” Sister Beatrice explained.
“He ran away on May 21 and went towards Ayta Al Shaab Village.
“My neighbour Maryam Srour posted an advertisement about his escape on the Facebook page of Ayta Al Shaab. I bought this monkey so that it helps children captured by technology to reconcile with nature. Animals are a mirror for the heart of man, as per the French poet Jean de La Fontaine.”
There will be a cash reward for any person who recaptures and returns the monkey who was last seen at Abu Twail village northern Israel.
Media reports said Tachtouch was spotted in four villages but was still on the run.
However there were no explanation or statement as to how the monkey managed to cross the heavily armoured borderl between Lebanon and Occupied Palestine.
