A stylishly-attired monkey has become an instant internet celebrity and triggered an animal welfare investigation, after it was found wandering in a Canadian furniture store car park.
The months-old rhesus macaque, named Darwin, spent the night at an animal shelter in Toronto after he was found wandering around an IKEA car park wearing a sheepskin coat on Sunday afternoon.
Darwin apparently opened his crate and the door of his owner's vehicle and went for a stroll.
His adventure, however, didn't stop there.
Snap-happy Canadians took photographs of Darwin and posted them online where he immediately became a viral sensation.
His image was pasted into mockups of the IKEA catalogue, atop Toronto's CN Tower, in Canada's parliament seated next to the prime minister, and elsewhere.
A prankster registered a Twitter account in Darwin's name, writing: 'I'm way over dressed for this animal shelter' and 'There's a cat giving me weird looks ... What do I do?'
Outside Canada's parliament, opposition MP Chris Charlton evoked the monkey in swipes at the government: 'Conservatives are as lost as a monkey in an IKEA. Though at least the monkey was wearing a coat to cover his shame'.
Animal welfare authorities were less amused.
Mary Lou Leiher of Toronto's Animal Services said: 'He's not very happy right now. He's comfortable, but he's having a bad day'.
Canada is no place for a rhesus macaque, she told reporters.
'It's a very exotic choice for a pet,' she said. 'Common sense would say, 'Get a dog.''
Darwin's owners have reportedly been slapped with a Can$240 ($A232.62) fine for owning a prohibited exotic pet and Animal Services is now looking for a new home for Darwin at an animal sanctuary.
