Monkey business: Capuchin monkey at California zoo dials 911 accidentally

On Saturday night, a monkey at a zoo in California dialled 911 using the zoo's cellphone after finding it. The 911 call, according to the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office, was disconnected. And no one answered when dispatchers tried to phone the number back.

Deputies were then dispatched to the location of the cellphone to see whether assistance was needed. When they got to the offices of Zoo to You, which are close to Paso Robles, no one had placed the call.

The sheriff's office wrote on Facebook, "Was someone trying to make us look like a monkey's uncle?"

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The likely caller was eventually identified as Route, a capuchin monkey from the zoo. The golf buggy used by the zoo to get about the 40-acre property seems to have been scooped up by Route.

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"We're told capuchin monkeys are very inquisitive and will grab anything and everything and just start pushing buttons," the sheriff's office said. The monkey had apparently just happened to push the right combination of numbers to call emergency services.

The social media post read, "Our Deputies have seen their fair share of 'monkey business' in the County. But nothing quite like this. Route is a little embarrassed by the whole thing. But you can't really blame her, after all monkey see, monkey do."

It's unclear whether the monkey dialled 911 via the keypad, a feature that can be easily accessed by the majority of locked devices.

(with inputs from agencies)