Escaped monkey on the loose near Beekse Bergen safari park

A monkey has escaped from Safaripark Beekse Bergen in Hilvarenbeek, Noord-Brabant, and has been roaming the area around the park for several days.

The animal, a male black crested mangabey, is not dangerous to people or pets, a park spokeswoman told regional broadcaster Omroep Brabant.

It is thought to have got out last weekend, possibly on Saturday, by swimming across the moat around the island where the park keeps its mangabeys – something staff had not thought possible.

The monkey has been spotted several times near the park. On Tuesday it appeared in the village of Esbeek, a few kilometres away, where a woman walking her dog filmed it, footage published by the Brabants Dagblad.

Beekse Bergen has asked anyone who sees the animal to call a number on its website rather than try to catch or approach it. The park said it would try to sedate the monkey and return it.

It is the second escape from Beekse Bergen in recent weeks. In May a pregnant cheetah got out, keeping the park closed for much of the day until a vet tranquillised it.