Missing monkey wins zoo's beauty contest

A missing monkey has won a beauty contest at the Takasakiyama Natural Zoo monkey park in Oita, Japan. In a poll among park visitors  a monkey named Bentsu collected 518 of the 2,637 votes cast.

At an estimated 35 years of age, Bentsu is more than 100 years old in human terms, making him the oldest among the 16 contestants. A park official said the victorious monkey has been missing since Dec. 16. “It's too bad he's missing, but we want people to recognize him as a manly monkey,” the official said.



The monkeys taking part in the contest were from two troops, groups B and C, of wild monkeys that feed at Takasakiyama Natural Zoo, located in a forested area at the foot of Mt. Takasaki. More than 1,000 monkeys live there. Bentsu, the boss of Group C, scored an overwhelming victory with a margin of 187 votes over second-place finisher Zorome, who is ranked No. 2 in Group C.

Bentsu previously went missing in September but returned to his leadership position in Group C after being discovered in a residential area of the city. He disappeared again in mid-December. The park conducted its third search for the monkey on Saturday. The results of the contest were released on Friday.