I really just don’t even know how to introduce this video. I think you just have to see for yourself.
Yes, those are capuchin monkeys riding border collies herding sheep. Why, you ask? Your guess is as good as mine.
Apparently this monkey crew is called Team Ghost Riders. They’re owned by ex-rodeo rider Tim Lepard and they’ve been touring around and performing at sporting events for years. They’re a main attraction at many minor league baseball games, but their “big break” came in 2015 with their halftime performance at a Monday night NFL game.
Lepard started this sideshow performance back in 1987. After he gave up the rodeo, he decided to switch from bulls and horses to focus on another animal he loved: monkeys. He originally wanted to teach the monkey to ride a horse, but the monkeys tended to climb up the horse’s neck. He tried English sheepdogs before ultimately deciding on collies.
So how do you even train a monkey to ride a dog? The surprising answer is Pop-Tarts. The monkeys love these frosted breakfast treats and they work perfectly as little rewards. Once the monkeys get used to the dogs, Lepard dresses them up and they’re ready to perform.
But not everyone is a fan of this primate performance. Animal rights groups like PETA have been known to protest the shows, saying they’re inhumane to the monkeys. Lepard, however, says that he treats the monkeys like “family” and that they “mean more to [him] than anybody out there.”
So whether you’re for or against this monkey business, there’s no doubt that seeing these little animals do their thing makes people go bananas.
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