A 19-year-old capuchin monkey named Mookie is under house arrest after biting a man that tried to pet him. The simian is confined to owner Brad Berman’s home Merritt Island, Fla., for one month until authorities can figure out if it has rabies. The transgression occurred this past weekend outside of a convenience store when the victim, 32-year-old Justin Debree, saw Mookie with Berman and asked if he could pet the primate. “All of a sudden, a car comes into a parking lot and startles the monkey, and the monkey bites the guy on the shin,” Brevard County Animal Services Capt. Bob Brown told Florida Today. Debree wasn’t seriously injured by Mookie’s mandibles and Berman said Mookie had never bit anyone before, and doesn’t have rabies, according to NBC Chicago. He also said that his monkey is registered with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, but officials ordered a 30-day quarantine of the animal at home to be sure Mookie doesn’t show any symptoms. That decision is driving Berman ape since Mookie’s 20th birthday will occur during the lockdown. That means a beach party that had been planned for the monkey’s big day will be canceled.
