Six Years On, The Ikea Monkey Is Thriving, Happy And In Love With Life
What a glow up.
Six years ago, Darwin the macaque wandered into an Ikea wearing a very stylish coat. It was possibly the happiest the internet has ever been.
Darwin became an overnight sensation when he was found wandering through an Ikea car park on December 9, 2012 in Toronto, wearing a faux-shearling jacket and looking very snug. He was also wearing a nappy.
When The Globe published an article with the absolutely perfect headline “Stylish by illegal monkey found roaming Toronto IKEA”, our world exploded.
On this day in 2012, a stylish but illegal monkey was found roaming in a Toronto IKEA. pic.twitter.com/nMNLtpOfiw
— Norm Kelly (@norm) December 9, 2017
For all the social media love, deep down we knew this stylish monkey was more than just ‘illegal’: it was wrong. Turns out Darwin — who was just six months old at the time — was ‘owned’ by Yasmin Nadhuka. When she visited Ikea, he made a run for it, jumping out of her car. The rest is both fashion and animal cruelty history.
Thankfully, Darwin no longer lives with Nadhuka, though she did try to prove her rightful ownership in court. She failed.
Instead, he lives at the Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary in Ontario, which cares after mistreated all sorts of primates, from macaques to baboons to spider and squirrel monkeys and even lemurs, because humans are awful.
What’s not awful is Darwin’s life. Speaking to Vice a few years ago, Story Book detailed how Darwin had remained shy and ‘mischievous’, but was in a much better place.
And now, he’s thriving: today, Story Book has reflected back on six years with Darwin, posting a cute pic.
How time flies. Today is 6 years since Darwin was brought into our lives.
Posted by Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary on Monday, 10 December 2018
Look at him boldly looking down the lens. He may not be wearing the coat anymore, but this photoshoot is editorial. Those radiating, flaxen eyes! His soft fur! Stoic! Heroic!
Given that most memes tend to be milkshake ducked within about three days (remember the showering rat?), it’s nice to know that Darwin is out there succeeding and living his Godamn life. If you’d like to learn more about the Story Book Sanctuary (or donate), you can do so here.