A monkey with a seemingly elaborate appetite is on the loose in St Elizabeth (St Bess), leaving members of some communities in the parish’s south east region on edge and in frantic watch mode over their bananas in particular.

Word reaching the Jamaica Observer is that the animal was one of two stolen from its owner some weeks ago, and the thief demanded a ransom for their return.

However, only one was given back to the businessman, who is a member of a prominent family in the fruitful parish, the terms of which were not immediately made known to the Sunday Observer, although several stories have been floating around.

It is understood that in the process of taking back the other monkey to its owner, the creature escaped from its captor and headed off in nearby bushes, despite the energetic effort by the monkey thief to chase it.

Residents of communities like Potsdam, Munro and Mount Zion, told the Sunday Observer that they have seen the monkey, which usually races away as soon as it detects that human eyes are upon it.

“You caa keep ripe banana or fig anywhere ina you yard,” one resident said yesterday. “The monkey woulda nyam it off before you blink. Once him ketch the ripe banana, an him see the figs, which usually the birds dem eat, him a nyam it off,” the resident stated.

Another woman who lives in the general area said that a community resident whom she described as “Mass Ron” had reported in the early stages that he had seen the monkey in his back yard, after his dogs who were tied up a short distance away, were barking consistently.

But when Mass Ron told others that he had seen a monkey, many did not believe him, forcing the senior citizen to think that he was seeing ‘doubles’.

“Mass Ron say him see one monkey ina him backyard and people a say nutten no go so, a mus puss him see,” the woman continued with her story to the Sunday Observer. “The dog dem chase the money wid dem barking but the monkey go another house nearby an other people see him, so a dat time dem believe Mass Ron.”

The resident said that even Mass Ron had at one time begun to question his own judgement regarding whether or not he had seen a real monkey, or it was a ‘puss’ as some had suggested.

“The monkey eat off Mass Ron banana and other people say them banana get nyam up too, but it look like the money love fig tree too,” the woman continued.

The residents who spoke to the Sunday Observer described the fig tree as one that grows tall, with branches spread wide which bears a small, red fruit with lots of seeds. It is officially called Jamaica Cheery Fig Tree.

Police were said to be searching for the man who stole the monkey, as well as the animal, but there was no official response from the Malvern Police when the Sunday Observer checked yesterday.