A baby monkey of a local breed, who was brought to the city court in Karachi, along with 13 other monkeys by the Sindh Wildlife Department, escaped from the court premises Thursday.

The department officials found the 14 newborn monkeys during a search of a passenger bus that had arrived in Karachi from Charsadda in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

These monkeys were illegally captured from the forests in Charsadda, while two individuals — responsible for bringing the monkeys on the bus — were arrested and charged with violating provincial wildlife laws.

They were presented with the recovered monkeys during their court appearance at the district and sessions court.

Additional Sessions judge Shahid Ali Memon has fined the suspects Rs100,000 and ordered them to hand over the monkey babies to the zoo. The court has ordered the additional director to keep the 14 baby monkeys in a safe, sound, and natural atmosphere in accordance with the law.

The Game Officer Ashfaq Ali Memon has been directed to keep close liaison with the wildlife department team for the welfare of baby monkeys and submit a report before the court on August 7.

These monkeys, as told by the department officials, were kept in wooden mango crates. One monkey, however, managed to come out of the small box as some wood was pulled out of it to allow fresh air for ventilation.

The baby monkey, the wildlife department said, is very small and sat on the thin branches of a tree. They added that it was difficult to get hold of him as he was too small and, therefore, too fast to be easily grabbed.

The department’s team resumed its rescue operation today (Friday) to catch the baby monkey at the city court. The animal cannot be anesthetized as it is life-threatening, the department said, adding that they are trying to catch the baby monkey by setting a net.

Sindh’s wildlife department questioned the oversight of other wildlife departments across the country as the bus easily travelled through all checkposts without being searched.

“They were rescued by a team of the Sindh Wildlife Department at the Rangers check post on the M9 Motorway,” the officials said.

Meanwhile, in Punjab’s Chunian Tehsil, monkeys escaped from the Changa Manga National Park. One was caught after 33 hours, while a search operation continued for the other.

The fled monkey continued to jump on the roofs of houses and even climbed on the tower of a mobile phone company.