California authorities said an 'inquisitive' monkey from a local zoo picked up a cellphone and dialed 911, prompting a brief investigation
San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office/ Facebook
- Authorities in California said a monkey at a local zoo dialed 911.
- The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office said they received a call from an unknown person.
- After a brief investigation, they learned it was a monkey named "Route" behind the call.
Authorities in California say a monkey at a local zoo picked up a cellphone and dialed 911, prompting a brief investigation.
Deputies with the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office received the call last Saturday before it suddenly disconnected, according to a statement.
When deputies tried to get in touch with the caller, they received no response and decided to go to the listed address. The location ended up being Zoo to You Conservation Ambassadors in Paso Robles, California.
The deputies were informed that no human at the zoo called them, but rather a monkey named "Route" who picked up the zoo's cell phone from a golf cart used to travel around the 40-acre site, per the statement.
"We're told Capuchin monkeys are very inquisitive and will grab anything and everything and just start pushing buttons," the statement said.
The sheriff's office post includes a photo of Route, who author ies said coincidentally dialed the right numbers to reach them. In a statement earlier this week, Zoo to You acknowledged their resident headline-making monkey.
"While we wish it was for something a little more 'conservation education' based, let this serve as an educational lesson that monkeys are NOT animals that should be kept as pets!" Zoo to You wrote on Facebook. "They're so inquisitive you never know what might happen!"