SOME WAGS in our newsroom have prompted musings about the whereabouts of Sammy, the young adult who has gone AWOL from the Hope Zoo.
Just in case some readers have not made the connection we hasten to point to yesterday's front page item about the capuchin monkey which has escaped the St. Andrew institution and is now reportedly on the run.
Those newsroom wiseacres have made pointed reference to Sammy's antecedents. That he was donated to the zoo by the Immaculate Conception High School in 1985 is invested with some significance, having been "kept as a pet" at that prestigious girls school.
Since Sammy is now said to be in his late 20s we have to assume that his graduation was prompted by increasing maturity. Petting lends itself to familiarity which in turn is said to breed contempt.
Indeed his keepers at the zoo describe Sammy as fairly intelligent, which must reflect some credit on the reputation of Immaculate as a teaching institution; the petting, presumably, would have happened during breaks for recreation.
We have been advised however that Sammy is capable of inflicting bites, his friendliness being reserved for people with whom he is familiar.
As a newspaper with credible regional and international connections we have been advised that Sammy's presumed excursions outside the Hope Zoo would have been commonplace in such islands as Barbados.
A reliable source tells us that in Little England, monkeys sometimes move in packs and commit praedial larceny at will. Which is what our capuchin is suspected to be doing amid the many trees of Hope Pastures.
One problem is that while he is accustomed to feeding on fruits that diet is normally supplemented with hard-boiled eggs for protein.
We have no way of knowing whether Sammy has made connections with any new hens involved in immaculate conception.
