‘Bradley’ the escaped monkey captured in South Carolina

South Carolina — After five days on the lam, a monkey who broke free from his habitat in a South Carolina neighborhood was caught.

The monkey, known as Bradley, is a 15-year-old Japanese macaque. He has lived for almost six years in Walterboro, SC, according to a news release from Colleton County Animal Services

“The outpouring of concern and information from Colleton County residents has been overwhelming and we are thankful for the public’s support in helping to locate Bradley,” the animal services news release read. “We so appreciate the community’s support for animal welfare.”

A day after Bradley took off, the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office advised residents in a Facebook post he was loose 48 miles west of Charleston.

The sheriff’s office said Bradley’s owner tried to catch him but was unsuccessful. It remains unclear how he was captured. 

South Carolina law says it’s illegal to purchase or possess great apes – chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans. But it is legal to keep other wild animals as pets, according to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.

More commonly called snow monkeys, the omnivorous Japanese macaque isn't a picky eater and enjoys a variety of foods. It is one of Japan’s most mythologized animals featured in art, folklore and religion. Common in proverbs, it is the species used in the traditional "three wise monkeys,” which warn people to "see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil.”