Ikea Monkey Darwin Will Not Return To Owner Rules Judge; What Is The Fate Of The 'Wild Animal'? [VIDEO]

The IKEA monkey, later revealed as Darwin, donning a furry coat in the dead of a Canadian winter and found wandering the Swedish furniture store last December will stay at the primate sanctuary currently housing him. A Canadian judge ruled Friday that the monkey would not be returned to owner Yasmin Nakhuda after it was placed in the sanctuary's care. Nakhuda obtained the Japanese snow macaque when he was little older than a month. She spent the next seven months documenting the monkey's behaviors on YouTube before she was fined and forced to turn Darwin over to the Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary. Nakhuda promised to get her beloved pet back, going so far as to sue the sanctuary for his return.

Ontario Superior Court Judge Mary Vallee ruled Friday that while the animal appeared tame, exhibiting behaviors like wearing human clothing and sleeping alongside his owner, he is still a wild animal and deserves to be treated as such. The frantic animal made its way into an Ikea store in Toronto last year when he allegedly escaped from her car. According the CBS News, Nakhuda alleged that the Toronto animal services department tricked her and acted illegally when they removed the monkey from her custody. Vallee rejected the argument. When he was originally taken, Nakhuda said she was a good caretaker for the critter, saying she would have a panic attack any time he left her side. "At the beginning, I was told that was the best for him because generally, monkeys live off the back of the mom," she said in December.