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A Tennessee woman said she was feeding her cats when she was nearly attacked by a different animal: a monkey.
The incident occurred on Thursday as the anonymous woman was giving her pets food when a monkey — wearing a leash — tried to attack her, News Channel 9 reported. Police don’t know where the monkey came from or who it belonged to.
Startled, the woman grabbed a shotgun and struck the vervet monkey.
The severely injured creature was taken to the Chattanooga Zoo, where veterinarians tried in vain to save it.
Jake Cash, Director of Marketing and Communications at Chattanooga Zoo, told the outlet: “Every animal care professional we spoke to, and that was in the room, decided that the best, obvious course of action was just a humane euthanasia, due to the severity of the animals injuries.”
This monkey was male and not an adult, Cash said, adding that while people are allowed to own monkeys in Tennessee, he doesn’t recommend it. “Housing a primate like that comes with a lot of risks and challenges that people definitely need to fully understand before they undertake something like that,” he said.
Soddy-Daisy Police are trying to determine who owned the monkey, the outlet reported.
This monkey isn’t the only one to make headlines this week.
Police are on the hunt for 40 monkeys that escaped a research facility in South Carolina.
The monkeys reportedly escaped from a business called Alpha Genesis, which provides “nonhuman primate products and bio-research services,” according to its website.
“Just don’t try to take these things home or pet them,” Yemassee Police Chief Gregory Alexander said, per the Post and Courier. “We’re getting a lot of that on our social media. That’s a felony because they don’t belong to you.”
There is no indication that the vervet monkey in Tennessee is related to the escaped monkeys in South Carolina.
