A common langur that had escaped from the city zoo on Tuesday afternoon strayed back to its premises but stayed out of reach on Wednesday.
The female langur, around four years old, was last spotted atop a wild jackfruit tree near its enclosure on Wednesday night.
Since its escape on Tuesday afternoon, it had been roaming around the Museum-Nathancode area, with many an unconfirmed sighting. Darting the animal was difficult since it could fall to the ground from a great height. Once dusk fell, spotting the animal became next to impossible. A zoo team deployed to track its movements remained in the area at night.
Early on Wednesday, zoo veterinarian Jacob Alexander was back trying to catch sight of the animal but to no avail.
Not long after his return, the langur was spotted on the zoo premises. It was believed that the animal was in the Nanthancode area till morning. Though there were concerns that its unfamiliarity with the area could prevent its return, it found its way back.
And then began the wait to see if it would return to its male partner who was still in the enclosure. As there was no change in the situation till nightfall, fruits were left for it under the tree and in two enclosures to lure it back. Zoo staff had also been posted some distance away so as to not scare the animal in case it got down and returned to its mate.
Zoo officials said it was unlikely that the langur would move at night, but they remained hopeful it would return to its enclosure on its own early in the morning, without the need for physical or chemical restraint.
As it had been spotted chewing tender leaves, and could also feast on the fruit of the tree, they believe the natural settings were suited to its needs, and so they would wait and watch.
Dr. Alexander said reports that the animal was dangerous were not accurate for it was less ferocious than the bonnet macaque. Its diet was mostly tender leaves, fruits, flowers, nuts, and berries. It stayed close to treetops, rather than come close to human habitations and pilfer things. They were also visible in good numbers near forests in Wayanad and Idukki in the State and the people there were very familiar with these monkeys, even though people in urban areas may not be.
