EUTAWVILLE — Most monkeys like bananas. Ava prefers a hot cup of coffee.

The pet spider monkey escaped her owner and roamed free in Orangeburg County for a day last week before being captured by a quick-thinking town clerk.

Casey Hill was originally focused on fishing when she awoke Oct. 4 and headed over to help at the Eutawville Crappie Classic and Fall Fest.

But after hearing rumors of a monkey on the loose, Eutawville’s town clerk formed a posse and decided to try her luck at catching a primate instead.

Ava, a pet spider monkey, escaped from her Eutawville home on Oct. 4 before running around the small South Carolina town.

 

Provided/ Casey Hill

Traveling with Mayor Brandon Weatherford and his wife, Laura, Hill headed first to The Twirl restaurant where the escaped primate was last seen. They quickly spotted the spider monkey nearby and noticed a leash dangling from her body.

“Sure enough, she was hanging on the back of a vehicle by the barbershop,” said Hill, who began stopping traffic in an effort to keep the monkey safe.

Having already visited a restaurant and the barber, the spider monkey next ran to the First National Bank of South Carolina, as if she were running Saturday morning errands and taking care of monkey business, albeit very noisily.

“She was hollering,” said Hill. “You could tell she was scared.”

Despite the screeching, Hill didn’t panic. Instinctively, she placed the cup of coffee she was holding on the ground, peeled off the lid, and took a step back.

The escaped monkey became intrigued by the hot, steaming, caffeinated bait — call it a Cup of Mo’ (nkey).

As the spider monkey bent down and sipped the coffee, Hill stepped on her leash, which she said prompted even more “screaming and jumping around.”

At this point the spider monkey was claimed by its owner, an unidentified woman who identified the pet as Ava.

Spider monkeys, which are not native to South Carolina, normally live in forests in Central and South America where they use their long arms to “gracefully move through the canopy,” said Lisa Jones-Engel, a senior science advisor for the animal welfare group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.