The animal had gone missing from the Highland Wildlife Park on Sunday. 

The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland have confirmed an escaped macaque has been caught.

The monkey got loose from its enclosure at Highland Wildlife Park on Sunday, January 28. 

The search for the animal ran for five days before the Japanese Macaque was apprehended in a garden. 

The seven-year-old male was successfully tranquilised and will be returned to its enclosure following a check from the zoo’s vet.  

Keith Gilchrist, living collections operations manager at Highland Wildlife Park said, “We can confirm we have successfully caught the macaque that escaped from the park on Sunday named Honshu. 

“After a call to our hotline just after 10am our keepers and drone team made their way to a member of the public’s garden where the monkey was eating from a birdfeeder and successfully used a tranquiliser dart to catch him.

“The monkey is on the way back to the park with our keepers where he will be looked over by one of our vet team and reintroduced to sub-adult males within the group.

“We want to thank everyone who has helped during the process and will continue to share any further updates.”

The escape was reported to have been a result of tensions growing high during mating season, with the macaque just one of 37 such creatures - also known as snow monkeys - in its enclosure. 

A number of sightings took place across the area, with the search aided by staff, local members of the public and the Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team - who operated a thermal imaging drone across the area.