Escaped monkey at San Antonio airport captured, identified as Dawkins

The primate that escaped a crate at the San Antonio airport Monday, May 21, 2018, was heading to the Born Free Sanctuary in Dilley, Texas, the largest primate sanctuary in North America, according to CEO Prashant Khetan. less The primate that escaped a crate at the San Antonio airport Monday, May 21, 2018, was heading to the Born Free Sanctuary in Dilley, Texas, the largest primate sanctuary in North America, according to CEO ... more Photo: Courtesy Born Free USA Photo: Courtesy Born Free USA Image 1 of / 38 Caption Close Escaped monkey at San Antonio airport captured, identified as Dawkins 1 / 38 Back to Gallery

A Rhesus macaque who escaped his crate at San Antonio International Airport shortly after his flight's arrival was eventually captured and is now safe in his new home, according to American Airlines and animal rescue officials.

Prashant Khetan, the CEO of Born Free USA, identified the briefly escaped primate as Dawkins, who was on his way to their sanctuary in Cotulla.

Public Information Officer Evelynn Bailey said that the animal was flown in on American Airlines from Chicago O'Hare. The flight reportedly landed just after 2 p.m. Monday.

READ ALSO: San Antonio Zoo closing monkey habitat

Dawkins escaped while the cargo was being transported off the plane, but was quickly cornered in a baggage handling area in Terminal B, airport officials said.

Once Dawkins escaped his cage, the airport’s wildlife biologist began coordinating with the veterinarians and staff from Animal Care Services and the San Antonio Zoo, said Russ Handy, Aviation Director for the City of San Antonio.

“The monkey was having a little bit of fun,” Handy said. “If you can visualize what a bag channeling system looks like, it’s a lot of belts and bars, it’s a little bit like a jungle. So, he’s having a pretty good time over there.”

Veterinarians were able to look at Dawkins’ paper work to tell that he was up to date on his shots and not a danger to anyone, Handy said.

“We could tell by the paper work the precise weight so the doctor was able to calculate exactly how much tranquilizer to use,” Handy said.

Once that was done, the group of people made up of the various organizations went into the baggage area, sedated Dawkins and placed him in a kennel about 4:45 p.m.

Khetan said traveling can be a tense experience for animals.

"He's stressed," Khetan said. "This is a Rhesus macaque in a situation that's not normal. It's not uncommon, but a reminder for us that when animals are in captivity, they can be unpredictable."

The sanctuary where Dawkins was headed, was intended to recreate the experience of being in the wild, Khetan said. Unless the primates are injured, handlers try to be as hands-off as possible, allowing the primates to live among each other in the open-air enclosure.

The sanctuary is the largest in the country, Khetan said, holding up to 550 primates.

It's the second time in as many months San Antonio has had an incident with primates on the loose. Read about how four baboons used a 55-gallon barrel to escape from a local research facility on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com.

American Airlines released a statement about the more recent escape, with officials saying they monitored the situation.

Hardy said American Airlines was able to divert baggage to another terminal until the monkey was placed in a kennel, he said.

No flights or passengers were affected by the incident.

Fares Sabawi covers crime in San Antonio and Bexar County for mySA.com. Read more of his stories here. | fsabawi@mysa.com | Twitter: @FaresInSA