Visitor from another world: A Chinese housewife caught this atrophied ape stealing cucumbers from her flat - and called the police
This ape made a monkey of Chinese villagers who feared it was a visitor from another world.
Locals panicked when Mao Xiping, a housewife from the village of Gezhai, in Henan province, central China, found the scraggy simian stealing cucumbers from her flat.
She thought it was a harmless rabbit, until she noticed it had an 'alien face' and her neighbours agreed it was like nothing they had ever seen before.
An alarmed Mrs Mao rang police for help. But officers thought she was monkeying around until she trapped the animal and took it to the police station.
She took it in caged in a washing basket and demanded that officers place it under arrest.
Experts were last night examining the malnourished monkey, which was so thin its ribs could be seen through its skin.
Frightened: Mrs Mao captured the monkey and took it to the police station
Mrs Mao said: 'At first I thought it was a rabbit, then I was shocked to see it had an alien face.
'My neighbours agreed it was like nothing we'd seen before.
'It stopped eating cucumbers when we gave it peaches - now it won't eat anything else.'
Feed me! Now the malnourished monkey has developed a hankering for peaches - while officers search for its uncle
And yes, it looks sick.
I may be stating the obvious, but since the article calls it a "monkey" I thought I should clarify.
If the local residents were not familiar with lemurs, it could be that this animal was being held captive by a poacher or similar and escaped.
If every sick and malnourished child got as much attention as this poor lemur, the world would be a better place!