SAN FRANCISCO — Banana-Sam the squirrel monkey has been swiped from the San Francisco Zoo, and if you have him and are thinking of keeping him, zoo officials have a message for you: Bad idea.

The 2-pound, orange and gray fuzzy monkey is small and cute and probably pretty cuddly, but he belongs in his zoo exhibit, with trained professionals. He has extremely sharp teeth and he will bite “if provoked,” zoo officials said in the statement.

Police are on the case, but the zoo needs the public’s help too. If you see the monkey, don’t delay: call the cops. $5,000 reward for Banana-Sam’s safe return, thanks to a pledge from a private donor, zoo spokesman Danny Latham said.

“If your friend, relative, neighbor or acquaintance suddenly has a pet monkey that they didn’t have the day before, please call 9-1-1,” said San Francisco Police Sgt. Michael Andraychak. “We don’t know where the animal is; we are hoping for the public’s help.”

Andraychak said the police are investigating the theft in tandem with zoo officials and animal control.

“It appears (that it was) a deliberate effort to get into the zoo,” he said.

The vandals cut a perimeter gate sometime Thursday night, climbed on top of a roof sheltering five primate exhibits and then cut two holes in the mesh of the squirrel monkey exhibit, zoo officials said.

Police are looking for prints. Ones that aren’t monkey prints, that is.

“This was a criminal act of vandalism and trespassing, and we are working with police to identify the perpetrators,” said San Francisco Zoological Society president and Executive Director Tanya Peterson.

In the meantime, Banana-Sam has developed something of a cult following. He’s got a phony Twitter feed, SF_BananaSam, tracking his travels through the city, with stops at the Doggie Diner and a ride on Muni to the Rain forest Cafe at Fisherman’s Wharf. (“Arrived Fisherman’s Wharf. People still wear fanny packs? Considering going back to zoo,” SF_BananaSam quipped.)

Banana-Sam has lived at the zoo since the summer he and about 20 other squirrel monkeys arrived there after funding for a local research program was discontinued.

It’s not often that animals are stolen from the zoo, police said.

“It’s a rare occurrence,” Andraychak said.

Eleven years ago, also at the very end of December, two rare koalas that were stolen from San Francisco Zoo were found a few days later after an anonymous tipster called police. They were located in a house in South San Francisco, apparently victims of theft by two teenagers trying to impress their girlfriends.

Banana-Sam is 17-years old, male and has special nutritional needs, police and zoo officials said. Squirrel moneys are some of the most common monkeys in the Central American rain forests, but they are very shy and skittish.

“Squirrel monkeys are very cute and look like they would make good pets. However, they are wild animals, and prefer the forest much more than a home,” according to the website wildernessclassroom.com.

Anyone with information regarding Banana-Sam’s whereabouts is asked to contact the San Francisco Police Department at 415-553-8090.

Wire services contributed to this report.