Primate suspect: Monkey calls 911 and becomes suspect in sheriff's investigation

San Luis Obispo, California - A disconnected 911 call from a zoo near San Luis Obispo prompted the County Sheriff's Office to investigate, but it turns out it was just monkey business – literally!

A capuchin monkey Route was the prime suspect in the case.
A capuchin monkey Route was the prime suspect in the case.  © Facebook/Screenshot/San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office

Prank calling 911 can land you in a world of trouble, unless you happen to be an adorable little monkey.

According to the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office Facebook post from Monday, the incident occurred Saturday night.

"Our Deputies have seen their fair share of 'monkey business' in the County. But nothing quite like this," they wrote.

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They received a 911 call that disconnected. Dispatchers tried to call back but didn't get through, so deputies were sent to investigate.

Their investigation took them to Zoo to You near Paso Robles. There, no one claimed responsibility for the call.

After talking it through, the zookeepers were pretty sure they knew who the prime suspect was: a capuchin monkey named Route.

This little animal must have gotten her hands on the zoo's cell phone, which was inside the golf cart keepers use to run around the zoo's 40 acres.

The monkey isn't in any trouble for calling 911

The Sheriff's Office thought Route looked pretty guilty.
The Sheriff's Office thought Route looked pretty guilty.  © Facebook/Screenshot/San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office

In their post, the Sheriff's office noted, "We're told Capuchin monkeys are very inquisitive and will grab anything and everything and just start pushing buttons. And that's what Route did... just so happened it was in the right combination of numbers to call us."

The curious capuchin monkey is just too cute to get in trouble for prank calling the police.

"As you can tell from these photos, Route is a little embarrassed by the whole thing. But you can't really blame her, after all monkey see, monkey do," said the sheriff's office.

In their own Facebook post, Zoo to You said Route's inquisitiveness is exactly why monkeys aren't good pets: "Let this serve as an educational lesson that monkeys are NOT animals that should be kept as pets! They're so inquisitive you never know what might happen!"

Cover photo: Collage: Facebook/Screenshot/San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office (2)

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