The Full Story Behind ‘Carl The Monkey’

By now, you’ve probably seen this photo. He’s often referred to as IKEA Monkey or Carl The Monkey, but do you know the story behind the monkey in the shearling coat?

While shopping at a Canadian IKEA in December 2012, shoppers encountered a Japanese snow macaque adorned in a shearling coat and diapers running around the store’s upper parking garage.

“It was just running around screaming,” said shopper Bronwyn Page. “There was a crowd of us around it and it seemed really scared and agitated.”

Page tweeted a photo of the monkey. Later that same day, Twitter user Lisa Lin tweeted a new photograph of the same monkey standing in front of a window at IKEA.

As these photographs began spreading online, a parody @Ikea_Monkey Twitter account was created, the photos found their way onto Reddit, and a fellow Redditor created the infamous meme seen above.

The owner of the six-month-old macaque eventually came forward, and she was charged with having a prohibited animal, for which she received a $240 fine. But since this type of monkey is prohibited in Canada, Toronoto Animal Services sent Darwin to the Story Book Farm primate sanctuary. A lawsuit has been filed against Story Brook Farm, and only time will tell if Darwin will be reunited with his owner.

Now you know the story behind Carl The Monkey.