Mystery Monkey Captured, Taken to Safety Harbor Animal Hospital

A wild monkey that bit a woman and was on the lam in the Tampa Bay area for two years has been captured and was examined at a Safety Harbor animal hospital Wednesday.

The monkey gained celebrity status in southwest Florida as it eluded authorities for two years but was caught Wednesday by authorities, according to media reports.

The rhesus macaque monkey was tranquilized with a dart gun by trappers, who then picked up the monkey and transported it to Animal Hospital of Northwood in Safety Harbor, according to the Tampa Bay Times. Veterinarian and animal hospital owner Don Woodman told the newspaper the monkey, whom trappers have named "Cornelius," is in good physical health.

The monkey was spotted in various locations through the Tampa Bay area, most recently living in a south St. Petersburg neighborhood.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission caught the animal after it recently bit a woman as she sat in her back yard.

The monkey is in quarantine, with its future uncertain.