As of yesterday, an African species of monkey hailing from the Ship of Peace farm in Bint Jbeil has been safely returned back to his owner after a two-week holiday infiltrating the border of Israel.
His antics have gone viral with videos posted on Twitter and Facebook of him swinging on balconies and loitering inside Israeli farms, as we wrote about a couple of weeks ago. Tachtouch, as he is named, originates from the Ship of Peace farm in the southern region of Bint Jbeil. The farm was founded by French nun Beatrice Mauger as a safe space for dialogue between people of all faiths.
Thus, it’s ironic that Tachtouch made his way across the highly-militarized border of Israel, which is currently in a state of war with Lebanon. He was sighted in several locations between the two countries, two in Israel and two in Lebanon, during his jailbreak spree.
“I was certain he had a mission to accomplish, to make the project of the Ship of Peace known on the other side of the sealed-off border,” Sister Mauger said via The Daily Star.
Tachtouch’s return comes as a result of his capture in Galilee on Thursday after a nearby monkey sanctuary had been tracking him down for four consecutive days. Sister Mauger got in touch with UNIFIL to notify them of her missing pal, and they were able to arrange for his return back to the Ship of Peace farm on Friday morning.
Now that the escapist is back on Lebanese soil, he must have plenty of fans and people who still have unanswered questions. Sister Mauger is certainly glad to have him back at Ship of Peace, just in time for the summer vacation when children come to visit the farm.
“They’re going to be very happy to see him and feed him bananas and corn,” Sister Mauger said.
He had a good run, and we are glad to know he is safe and sound back home in Lebanon. In our eyes, he’ll always remain a legend.
זוכרים את הקוף הלבנוני? הנה הוא מדלג בינתיים ממרפסת למרפסת בחורפיש. מרגיש בבית.#כפר_ביקרתם? pic.twitter.com/SZL9cnZ21E
— Rubi Hammerschlag (@rubih67) May 26, 2019
