Lemur on the loose: Video shows creatures leading cops on wild chase in Missouri

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — Running through a dark city park, a lemur managed to stay one step ahead of police armed only with a large towel.

Bodycam video shows the two officers’ attempts to catch the small, speedy primate, which scampered to freedom Tuesday in Springfield, Missouri.

“We see the line,” one officer says, laughing as he tries to get closer.

Not giving up easily, the lemur raised its distinctive black and white banded tail and fled. He sprints and weaves through a parking lot, down a sidewalk, through grass and around trees.

Finally, the officer throws the towel like a net, but the lemur escapes and runs away.

” Damn it ! » exclaims the officer, while a few civilians help try to round up the creature.

Eventually, another officer was able to grab the lemur and hold it still while his partner gently “snuggled” him in the towel, Springfield police said in a Facebook post.

The animal’s owners had reported it missing, the department said, and later found it. But they won’t be able to keep it – a municipal ordinance prohibits having wild animals as pets.

Instead, police say the lemur has been connected with a local wildlife rescue agency, where he will be “well cared for and loved.”