A DRUNK man is feared to have been beaten up by a pack of tiny monkeys after breaking into a zoo to try to catch one.

John Owen Casford snuck through the gates at Wellington Zoo to snatch one of the 10-inch tall squirrel monkeys - only to be discovered with a broken leg and other injuries the following morning, the New Zealand Herald reported.

3 John Owen Casford tried to steal one of the squirrel monkeys for his girlfriend (file pic) Credit: 2018 � Elliott Franks

Wellington District Court judge Bill Hastings said: “Your intention was to capture [a monkey] and bring it home to your girlfriend. Your attempt was not successful."

The 23-year-old was ordered to attend a Restorative Justice hearing, during which zookeepers told him that he had traumatised the simians.

Hastings joked: "I don't know what happened in the squirrel monkey enclosure. The squirrel monkeys know. You say you couldn't find them and I don't speak squirrel.

"What I know is that by daybreak all the monkeys were distressed, two of them were injured, and you had a broken leg, two fractured teeth, a sprained ankle, and bruises on your back. You targeted a living creature.”

3 Credit: 2018 � Elliott Franks

The zookeepers thought that one of the squirrel monkeys was missing the morning after the break in.

3 Wellington Zoo is over 100 years old, and is home to over 100 species of fauna from across the world Credit: Google Street View

Dramatic video of moment disturbed monkey attacks drunk man at zoo

The morning after the attempted robbery, zoo staff could not find one of the squirrel monkeys and were led to believe someone may have stolen it.

But the injured female monkey was later found hiding in the cage, still frightened after Casford’s attempt.

The altercation left the "high as a kite" young man with a broken leg, two broken teeth, a sprained ankle, and multiple bruises.

It remains unclear exactly how Casford was left so badly injured but squirrel monkeys have been known to attack humans if they feel threatened and appear on Britain's dangerous animals list.

The 23-year-old admitted that he tried to burgle the zoo, and pleaded guilty to three charges of common assault, two of wilful damage, assault with intent to injure, breach of community work, and injuring with intent to injure.

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After pleading guilty, Casford said it was a blessing he was unable to catch any of the monkeys, for his sake and the monkeys' sake.

Not all of these charges were from that night, as Casford was also being sentenced for other unrelated violent offences that he had committed over the summer.

Casford was sentenced to two years and seven months in prison.

Squirrel monkeys are also known as saimiri, is an endangered species that grows to 35cm (plus a 35 to 42cm tail) and weighs up to just 1100g.