13 years later, the IKEA monkey is all grown up — and his sanctuary is at capacity

Darwin knows what cameras look like – and how to avoid them. From inside his enclosure, the monkey of Toronto Ikea parking lot fame spots us out of the corner of his eye and bolts under the table. 

The now 13-year-old Japanese macaque has seen enough of the spotlight to last a lifetime.

Darwin was just a baby when he was found in a North York Ikea parking lot in 2012, wearing a diaper and shearling coat, and seized by animal services. He’s been living at Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary in Sunderland, Ont., ever since.

Executive director Daina Liepa had just started volunteering at the sanctuary when Darwin first arrived.

When she saw the videos of Darwin circulating online, she noticed he was walking around on two feet – Japanese macaques are naturally quadrupeds. She said the video made her think the coat and diaper were too small for his body.

Liepa said she thinks Darwin’s upbringing around humans has made him shy around strangers as an adult. “He probably doesn’t feel as comfortable being around people, because he was forced to be around people when he didn’t necessarily want to be.”

Tuesday marked the 13th anniversary of Darwin’s escape from the parking lot and the beginning of his life at his newfound home.

These days, Liepa said Darwin loves using his indoor swing and eating grapes. She’s considering introducing Darwin to his next-door neighbour, Chiquita – another Japanese macaque who calls the sanctuary home – to encourage companionship.

Story Book is the only primate sanctuary in Canada, and at 24 monkeys and lemurs, it’s reached maximum capacity. 

‘We’ve never had to say no until now’ 

Liepa said the sanctuary recently had to turn away two monkeys who were referred there because it doesn’t have space for more.

“We’ve never had to say no until now,” she said. “Not only are there two monkeys out there that need a home, but I know there’s a lot more.”

When it does accept new primates, the animals often arrive at the sanctuary in need of immediate medical care. 

“A lot of monkeys and lemurs lose their lives during the process of being trafficked,” Liepa adds. “When they arrive, they’re close to death.”

Like in Darwin’s case, primates are most often referred to the sanctuary through animal welfare services.

Camille Labchuk, animal rights lawyer and executive director of Animal Justice, an animal law advocacy organization, said the responsibility to care for exotic animals seized from zoos, lab testing and other consequences of the exotic animal trade fall disproportionately on sanctuaries like Story Book.

Zoos in particular are frequent senders to Story Book, the sanctuary says. Once an animal has been surrendered, the sanctuary takes on full financial responsibility for its care.

“Why is it that we’re letting these businesses get away with causing problems and then fail to clean them up?” Labchuk said.

At-risk animals likely in the ‘hundreds of thousands’: advocate

In Ontario, municipal bylaws prohibit exotic pet ownership – not provincial ones.

Labchuk said she’d like to see the province create strict laws to protect animals from the exotic animal trade. She said she estimates the exotic animal trade in the province has likely trafficked “hundreds of thousands” of primates, birds, reptiles and more.

“Because there’s no provincial restrictions on ownership or breeding, it’s open season,” she said. “And there are still people who would like to purchase and have monkeys as pets, even though the evidence is very clear that it’s not appropriate.”

CBC Toronto has reached out to the province for comment.

At Story Book, fundraising is key to keep operations running. Liepa said the sanctuary is working on a million-dollar fundraising campaign to build space for more monkeys. 

But she wishes there was no need for sanctuaries like Story Book to fundraise, or exist, at all.

“None of these monkeys or lemurs asked to be captive,” she said. “Part of sanctuary life is that they come here and they die here because there is nowhere else for them to go.”

“So we do what we can for them while they’re here.”