Free Darwin! Owner of Ikea monkey holds protest to get her furry 'son' back from animal sanctuary before Christmas (and she already got him a Santa suit) 

By Daily Mail Reporter

PUBLISHED: 23:08 EST, 19 December 2012 | UPDATED: 02:59 EST, 20 December 2012

A woman whose pet monkey was found wandering in an Ikea parking lot staged a rally Wednesday with some 15 supporters at a Toronto Animal Services office in a bid to get her ‘son’ back.

Yasmin Nakhuda alleges the Japanese macaque, named Darwin, was illegally taken from her by animal control officials and moved to a sanctuary in Sunderland, Ontario, where he now lives.

Nakhuda, a real estate attorney, is due in court Thursday to try to get an interim order to have the primate returned to her.

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Warm and dry: The monkey that visited Ikea was wearing a thick winter coat and a diaper

Holiday shopping: The monkey roamed around the store before being collected by animal services

Her lawyer, Ted Charney, said he has been told the sanctuary plans to ask for the case to be adjourned Thursday.

‘Nakhuda has no claim of ownership over a wild animal that is no longer in her possession,’ the sanctuary said in its response to her filing to have Darwin returned.

A filing from the sanctuary asks for an adjournment on several counts, including a request that it be given more time to gather evidence.

The sanctuary also claims that it now owns Darwin, arguing that unlike domestic animals, wild animals are owned by the person that possesses them and Nakhuda voluntarily turned the monkey over to Toronto Animal Services.

The young monkey captured worldwide attention earlier this month when he was spotted wandering the store parking lot wearing a stylish, fitted shearing coat.

During the protest on Wednesday, Nakhuda said Darwin is more of a ‘little person’ than an animal, and she vowed to do all in her power to get him back in time for the winter holidays.

Darwin's 'mom:' Yasmin Nakhuda stands with supporters outside an Animal Services offices in Toronto Wednesday to rally support for the return of her monkey, which was seized earlier this month after it was found wandering an Ikea parking lot

Support group: As many as 15 people came out to rally for Darwin's returned, including co-workers, strangers and some of Nakhuda's relatives, among them her 12-year-old son, Misha, right

Speaking to reporters from CBC News, the pet owner said she already bought Darwin a few new outfits, including a Santa Claus suit for Christmas and a bow tie to wear on New Year’s Eve. 

Nakhuda said she was never given the chance to remedy the situation after being fined $240 for breaking the city's prohibited-animal bylaw.

‘I've spoken to a number of people in the legal community and they do agree that there is no statute allowing the city to take an animal away based on the circumstances,’ Nakhuda said at the protest, flanked by relatives and co-workers carrying signs with the words ‘Free Darwin Now!’

Determined: Nakhuda said she is prepared to fight for Darwin's return to the end, saying that she will not give up on her 'son'

She added: ‘They had no right to take away my little one without giving me the right to be heard.’

In court documents, Nakhuda says she, her husband and their two kids would be willing to move to the town of Kawartha Lakes two hours away from Toronto that allows monkeys in order to keep Darwin, whom they consider part of the family.

‘When I call him “son,” it’s not because I’m wacko. I call him son because he has so many child-like qualities,’ Nakhuda told CTV News. ‘It was not like a dog. It was not like a cat. It was something very, very different.’

The primate sanctuary has said the monkey is doing well and the agency was prepared to fight any legal challenges for its return.

Darwin’s owner, however, is determined to have the pint-sized primate back home at any cost.

‘I haven’t even thought about what I’d do if the judge rules against me,’ she told the National Post.

‘I’d probably have a nervous breakdown. I am not just going to give up. I just look at his face right now, and I said to him, I am going to come back for you — no matter what, and I will.

Darwin became known globally as 'Ikea monkey' after pictures of him in a coat made a furor online. 

Nakhuda said the officer who gave her a ticket for keeping a prohibited animal in Toronto was wrong to not return Darwin on her visit to the animal services centre on Dec. 9.

'The officer's refusal to return Darwin was unlawful because the Code does not authorize the officer to keep an animal other than dogs and cats,' the claim reads. 'The only penalty under the Code is a fine. Animal Services therefore unlawfully detained Darwin.'

'The only way (Nakhuda is) going to be able to recover her pet is through legal action,' Charney said.

Money see: Nakhuda said she would do everything with Darwin, and the two would even brush their teeth together

Monkey business: The real estate lawyer took Darwin with her to the office, left, and dressed him up in a devil costume for Halloween, right,

Deadly: Experts say it is not only illegal to have a monkey for a pet, but also could be dangerous because rhesus macaques like Darwin can carry the herpes B virus

She also names Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary and Delaney as defendants.

'They don't feel that their conversations with the owner have been sufficiently professional,' Charney said when asked why the sanctuary refused to allow his client to visit.

Delaney confirmed the sanctuary has retained a lawyer but had no comment 'in light of all the deaths in Connecticut right now, let's put the Darwin issues to the back burner.'

Nakhuda first got Darwin babysitting him for a friend.

‘It was a babysitting experience that turned out into a fatal attraction and put me where I am,’  Nakhuda told the Toronto Star.

After that, Nakhuda, a mother of two, said the pet she named Darwin was near her at all times, including while she slept and showered.

‘At the beginning, I was told that was the best for him because generally, monkeys live off the back of the mom,’ she said.

‘He always had to be within my view,’ she said, adding that he would ‘get into a panic attack’ the moment she was out of sight.

The seven-month-old rhesus macaque captured worldwide attention after he somehow let himself out of a parked car Sunday and ambled around the Ikea parking lot dressed in a stylish shearling coat and diaper.

He was eventually captured by animal control officers and was moved on Monday to a primate sanctuary about 60 miles northeast of Toronto.

Unusual customer: The monkey was first spotted in Ikea's parking lot

Distress: Having escaped a crate and a car the money darted around the store screaming

Nakhuda, who was fined $240 for breaking the city's prohibited-animal bylaw, said she is consulting a lawyer to see if she can regain custody of the pet she considers part of her family.

‘I know he cannot live without me,’ Nakhuda told CityNews. ‘And everyone who knows Darwin can vouch for this. He needs his mother like a child needs his mother.’

Nakhuda posted multiple videos on YouTube showing her daily interactions with Darwin, who could be seen playing at the office, dressed up as a devil with horns for Halloween and brushing his teeth along with his owner.

‘He is more than a handful: needs to be baby bottle fed night time and needs at least 3 diaper change a day,’ Nakhuda wrote in the comments.

‘He has to be with me all the time which means he goes with me to the office, sleeps with me, eats with me, showers with me, goes shopping with me . . . it is more than a human baby so yes, not everyone can handle a baby monkey. He is now 6 months old only and is expected to be around 4 feet tall.’

VIDEO: Home videos of Darwin show how much he is loved...

Internet craze: The Ikea monkey was celebrated online and depicted in a range of different scenarios. Here he takes a trip to Toronto's CN Tower

Political adviser: On this occasion the famous macaque helps out Toronto's mayor Rob Ford

Sherri Delaney, the founder of the primate sanctuary, told CTV Tuesday that Nakhuda will be allowed to visit Darwin once the monkey gets comfortable in his new home.

Delaney went on to say that animals like Darwin are not meant as pets, nor can they substitute a child.

‘Did he need to be in a coat? No, he didn’t. Did he need to be in a diaper? No,’ she said.

At the sanctuary, which currently houses 22 primates, Darwin will be paired up with an older female monkey who would care for him.

The now-famous primate will share his new dwelling with a pair of Japanese macaques and two more rhesus monkeys, who are expected to arrive from labs in the greater Toronto area.

New home: Darwin the stylishly dressed monkey was transferred to a primate sanctuary where he will live with a pair of Japanese macaques and two other rhesus monkeys

Visitation rights: The head of the sanctuary said Darwin's owner will be allowed to see him later on

It is against the law to own an animal like Darwin in Ontario, and Leiher said there are good reasons for that: rhesus monkeys are capable of carrying the potentially lethal herpes B virus.

The fashionable rhesus macaque, sporting a miniature shearling jacket, was first spotted in the parking lot, before roaming around and eventually being cornered inside the store.

Police believe that the pet had been in a car before escaping from both a crate and the vehicle to look around Ikea. Canadian police said: 'It's a smart monkey.'

Shopper Bronwyn Page told Toronto CTVNews of when she spotted the unusual customer outside the store: 'We saw a crowd of people and a little animal and I was like ‘oh my gosh it’s a monkey.’

Page first believed that the seven-month-old animal was fake but discovered otherwise when the monkey showed signs of distress.

Close ties: The mother of two said her relationship with Darwin started out as a baby-sitting gig but turned into 'fatal attraction' after she was unable to return him to the breeder because he was crying for her

Heavy burden: Nakhuda explained that caring for a monkey is very demanding because he needs to be bottle fed even at night and requires at least three diaper changes

Animal kingdom: Besides Darwin, Nakhuda also has a pet macaw, which unlike the primate, is legal to own in Ontario

'It started darting all over the place. It was scared.'

She added: 'It was very bizarre to see a real live monkey there. It was really small and just funny dressed in the coat.'

News of a monkey in a coat visiting Ikea quickly went viral on social networks. On Twitter, #Ikeamonkey trended and there are least two parody accounts. There is also an Ikea Monkey page on Facebook.

A new internet meme also developed, with the warm and smart monkey being depicted in a range of unlikely situations.

VIDEO: And here's Darwin shocking shoppers at IKEA...

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