The primate, originally described as a baboon but later clarified to be a Barbary macaque, was found lifeless under a tree on Friday and is thought to have been hit by a car.
Danish police alerted the public in January about the escaped animal, warning people not to approach it.
Vi søger en bavian, som er stukket af fra Blåvand Zoo. Forsøg ej at fange den, men ring gerne Vagtchefen. #politidk pic.twitter.com/Vot1leWHLi
— Sydjyllands Politi (@SjylPoliti) January 23, 2016
The macaque was spotted several times within the town of Esbjerg and the zoo’s owner had hoped that it would eventually would return but it apparently preferred its new-found freedom.
About the size of an average dog, the macaque was reportedly in good condition when it was found dead by summerhouse guests on Friday.
“It hadn’t lost any weight and looked healthy and well-nourished. I think it lived off the food it found in the bird houses around the summer homes,” zoo owner Hans Hestbech told Ritzau.
Hestbech said the monkey’s time on the run began when it got into a fight with some other males over the zoo’s female macaques.
The zoo owner said he has now raised the fence around the macaques’ enclosure to prohibit another escape.
An official autopsy was scheduled for Wednesday to confirm the cause of death.
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