(CNN) 鈥� The search for a pet primate who escaped last week from his habitat in South Carolina was ongoing Sunday, a news release from Colleton County Animal Services said.
The Colleton County Sheriff鈥檚 Office in a Facebook post Friday that a primate is loose somewhere in the Walterboro area, 48 miles west of Charleston.
The animal鈥檚 owner 鈥渋s attempting to capture it and has called in assistance, the sheriff鈥檚 office said.
The monkey, whose name is Bradley, is a 15-year-old Macaque who has lived in Walterboro for the past six years, according to animal services.
Bradley鈥檚 owner and animal services had not been able to locate him as of 10:30 a.m. ET Sunday.
鈥淎nimal Control and the Sheriff鈥檚 Office have received numerous tips as to Bradley鈥檚 location but because of the attention this situation has caused on social media and news channels, people who are trying to get a look at Bradley are sadly hampering the owner鈥檚 efforts to catch him,鈥� animal services Director Laura Clark said.
Professionals have been hired to help reunite Bradley with his owner, Clark added.
An image taken by Walterboro resident Tiffany Edenfield seems to show the primate standing in the grass. It has a red face, similar to some species of baboon and macaque monkeys.
One Walterboro resident, Kordell Brabham, didn鈥檛 believe his grandmother at first when she said she had spotted a 鈥渕onkey鈥� in the yard.
鈥淣ana, I think you need to go inside, it may be a little too hot out here for you,鈥� Brabham said he told her.
But soon after, he spotted the animal his grandmother was talking about.
In a video shared with CNN, the escapee can be seen walking on top of a shed. Brabham was shocked and said the first thought running through his mind was, 鈥渄on鈥檛 get too close, that鈥檚 a monkey.鈥�
The animal eventually climbed down from the shed and went into a nearby yard, Brabham said.
Residents are advised not to approach the primate, which the sheriff鈥檚 office said, 鈥渃ould be stressed,鈥� and only to report sightings. 鈥淧lease monitor your pets while they are outside as a precaution,鈥� the sheriff鈥檚 office added.
The sheriff鈥檚 office received a report of the primate 鈥渁ttempting to attack a resident鈥檚 dog in a yard,鈥� .
It鈥檚 unclear how the animal got loose or came to live in Walterboro, a city of over 5,000 people.
says that it鈥檚 illegal to purchase or possess great apes 鈥� chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans. But it is legal to keep other wild animals as pets, Smaller primates like monkeys and baboons seem to fall outside the state鈥檚 law on possessing wildlife.
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