Monkey on the loose in Beijing, may be destined for hot pot

Passersby in Beijing's Chaoyang district were reportedly so taken with an escaped rhesus macaque that they were willing to pay vendors for the food it stole from street stalls. 

Some residents were less enamoured with the pesky primate however and alerted the authorities. Dozens of police and fire officers reportedly arrived on the scene to catch the monkey, but after a spirited chase the animal got away. 

While Shanghai residents – more accustomed to having people thrust poor captive monkeys in their faces and demand money – may not understand the fuss the animal caused in the nation's capital, the last time a monkey was on the loose in Beijing, locals spent a good part of the day trying to catch it so they could "eat its brains".