Děčín, Czech Republic - A troupe of crested macaques escaped from a zoo in the Czech Republic and began roaming the town streets in Děčín, with caregivers desperately trying to catch them.

Two of the animals were recaptured, but six others were still on the run on Wednesday afternoon, with the Děčín Zoo installing traps and asking people to avoid the areas where the monkeys had been sighted.

The story behind the great escape is somehow wilder still.

Police arrested a man, charging him with entering the zoo around 9 PM local time on Monday night and vandalizing the electric fence around the crested monkey enclosure.

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The 42-year-old man was caught trying to break into a nearby country pub, according to Czech media. Police say he tested positive for cannabis.

Meanwhile, the zoo has been reopened after being briefly closed on Tuesday. Zookeepers hope the monkeys will return to their enclosure by themselves when they get hungry.

A zoo spokesperson urged the public not to try to capture the primates themselves. They have a strong bite and could be dangerous, she said.

The crested macaque is a rainforest monkey, native to Indonesia.