Several Cincinnati, Ohio residents have reported seeing a few monkeys on the loose. The Cincinnati Police Department started receiving reports around 10 p.m. CT on April 7, 2021.
One witnessed, Sammy Trinh, posted a video of the animals on her Facebook page. According to Trinh, the video shows that the animals are monkeys. However, officers have not been able to confirm these sightings.
They do believe the reports are credible and are continuing to monitor the area for the monkeys. Several of the residents report seeing the monkeys swinging in trees in St. Joseph’s Cemetery — in East Price Hill — on the corner of Enright Avenue and West Eight Street.
Officers believe they may have escaped from a private collection. Due to no one claiming their monkeys have escaped they could have been from an illegal collection.
President of Cincinnati Catholic Cemetery Society — which owns St. Joseph’s Cemetery — Stephen Bitner says he saw no activity on the facilities security cameras. He added that they do have a flock of wild turkeys in the area.
This raises the question of whether or not the monkey sightings were actually wild turkeys. Bitner said that wild turkeys are known to nest in trees.
If they were turkeys — “‘were they nesting in the trees,’ because whoever filmed and put (the video) on social media, it was (seen) through the power lines because you can see the power lines in the video.”
Due to being filmed at night, it is hard to tell exactly what type of animal is in the video. The Facebook video shows three dark bodies in the trees. However, that is the only thing that can be clearly seen.
Written by Sheena Robertson
Sources:
USA Today: Monkeys are reportedly on the loose in Cincinnati. Police have yet to find them.; by Kaanita Iyer, Sarah Brookbank, Cameron Knight, and Jeanne Houck
Fox 19: No confirmed monkey sightings in Price Hill as police continue to investigate reports from residents; by Jennifer Edwards Baker
Featured Image Courtesy of Steven and Darusha’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
