YPD investigating suspicious primate ducking behind cars and...

YARMOUTH – At about 9:00PM last evening, police responded to the McDonald’s on Route 28 after receiving a tip about a suspicious individual ducking behind cars at the drive thru.

Officers were nearby standing outside at another call when a woman drove up, clearly very concerned that a masked individual was possibly about to rob McDonald’s.

Officers immediately responded.

HN was nearby and also responded, but when police didn’t locate the individual, HN decided to head back towards Hyannis…

… but moments later HN learned police were looking for a primate one doesn’t see everyday, a suspicious human in a gorilla costume.

According to radio transmissions, the gorilla possibly tried to grab some money at the drive thru, but was only able to run off with a furry hand-full of straws.

Police drove across the street to the local bowling alley, a hangout where people are known to occasionally dress up like wild animals.

(Also, whenever there’s a perp-walk involving a handcuffed gorilla, it becomes a high priority photo-op HN cannot afford to miss. HN quickly returned to the scene, but things, sadly, didn’t pan out in the end.)

It didn’t turn out to be animal night at Ryan’s Family Amusements after all, and the gorilla was probably halfway across town by that point.

HN spoke with McDonalds’ staff members and learned the hand that grabbed the straws was covered with dark gorilla hair; it was a apparently a “full” costume.

There wasn’t time to monkey around. HN pressed for details, yet the encounter all happened so quickly, and employees were unable to offer much. Only that the gorilla was ducking behind cars until it suddenly decided to lunge between the takeout window and a customer’s car, grabbing some straws before flying away toward the Dunkin Donuts next door.

(Let me rephrase that, we’re not talking about a flying monkey, but rather a monkey that fled on foot… albeit, for one surprised witness, it may have seemed like the creature was flying in that particular moment.)

The gorilla reportedly didn’t say anything, or otherwise indicate its true intentions. The only other real detail, is it may have been carrying a store-bought cup of coffee when it first showed up, according to one witness.

HN NOTES: According to witnesses and police, the incident seems to have been some type of prank and not necessarily a robbery attempt after all. HN tends to concur, but is not 100% sure. After all, nobody really knows what mischief lurks within the dark recesses of any primate’s brain. Was it just trying to steal straws? Run off with someone’s Big Mac? Or was it up to something more sinister?

It wasn’t until later when HN discovered the dashcam footage. By pure coincidence, HN happened to be driving by McDonald’s when the gorilla had been ducking behind a vehicle at the drive thru. I didn’t see the suspicious primate at the precise moment when I was driving by, but after a close review of the dashcam files, revealing images surfaced.

The following HN footage highlights the suspicious primate in action. It starts off with the dashcam footage captured when HN drove by, this was before it had been reported to police. If you listen carefully, the footage also contains most of the radio transmissions between police officers. The quality of the dashcam images are poor due to low lighting and a less-than-optimal passing angle. But it clearly shows what appears to be a sneaky gorilla, or some other large furry primate…

[Press play… select HD in the settings and enlarge player for best quality…]