The former owner of the “Ikea monkey” is holding a dinner and publishing a children’s book to raise money for her custody battle with the primate sanctuary where the monkey now lives.

Yasmin Nakhuda, the self-titled surrogate mother of the now-famous Japanese macaque named Darwin, said at least half the 250 tickets for an April 6 dinner at Mississauga’s Manchurian Madurai restaurant have sold, at $75 a piece.

“It’s very expensive to fight for him,” said Nakhuda, a real estate lawyer. She estimated that if her case is unsuccessful and she winds up on the hook for defense costs as well, her legal battle could cost $100,000 to $150,000. “You can love and you can try all of that, but at the end somebody has to write the cheque and pay the bill.”

Darwin made international headlines last December when he was found wandering an Ikea parking lot in a shearling coat. Nakhuda handed him over to animal services in Toronto, where it’s illegal to keep macaques as pets, but later said she’d been tricked into surrendering him.

Nakhuda is now suing the Story Book Farm primate sanctuary for “illegally detaining” the monkey. A custody case is expected later this year.

The event serves as the launch party of Darling Darwin Monkey Friends and Co., a group that will help exotic pet owners care for and keep custody of their animals. It will include the launch of a children’s book by Nakhuda, called Darwin , published by Virginia-based Mascot Books.

Correction: This article was edited from a previous version that included an incorrect estimate of Yasmin Nakhuda's legal costs. The previous version stated her legal battle could cost $200,000 to $300,000.

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