Home videos of Darwin, the Ikea Monkey, posted to YouTube

Can’t get enough of Ikea Monkey?

No, neither can we.

So, it is lucky that the former owner of the smartly dressed macaque found in an Ikea store in Toronto last weekend had uploaded several home videos of her illegal pet primate to YouTube.

The footage shows the monkey, named Darwin, brushing his teeth before bedtime, wearing a Halloween devil costume and hanging off the blinds in his owner’s office.

Darwin has become an Internet sensation since photos of the diminutive primate wearing a miniature shearling coat appeared on the web. Bloggers have been hard at work Photoshopping images of the monkey and thinking up new slogans for Ikea.

Artists have also got involved. Remember the botched restoration of the 19th Century Jesus Christ fresco that went viral over the summer?

Well, Canadian artist Simone Manley has sold a painting of the Ikea Monkey depicted as the “ruined image of Ecce Homo" called “Ikeas Homonkulus.”

Manley posted the painting on Kijiji with an asking price of $60. 

“This portrait of the Well Dressed Ikea Monkey would make a sacrilicious Christmas gift for anyone who loves monkeys, botched Italian artwork and The Internet,” Manley wrote. 

The painting has been sold for $35.

Darwin's former owner, meanwhile, still hopes to get her pet back. Darwin is being held at a primate sanctuary.

Yasmin Nakhuda, who was fined $240 for breaking the city's prohibited-animal bylaw, told CBC News that she was seeking legal advice to see if she could regain custody of the monkey.

She is, however, willing to consider allowing Darwin to stay at the sanctuary if she can be convinced that "they are doing a better job."