Was Thabo the monkey STOLEN? Vervet that's amassed a huge TikTok following with owner who claims he 'rescued' him from a lab may have been snatched from Florida colony five years ago

Biologists have said that a TikTok viral monkey may have been stolen from a colony in Florida despite its owner's claims that he rescued the baby vervet from a lab. 

TikToker Kim Raymond Feaste, 31, has garnered over 3.4 million followers on the account he shares with his pet monkey 'Thabo'. 

On the account, called Thabo and Ray, Feaste uploads videos of his five-year-old vervet monkey on the loose, going to Walmart and eating chicken wings. 

Feaste claims to have rescued his TikTok co-star from a lab in Las Vegas, where the monkey's mother was allegedly killed.

However, expert biologists who are skeptical of Feaste's claims say that this is not likely.

TikToker Kim Raymond Feaste, 31, has garnered over 3.4 million followers on the account he shares with his pet monkey 'Thabo'

On the account, called Thabo and Ray, Feaste uploads videos of his five-year-old vervet monkey on the loose, going to Walmart and eating chicken wings

Feaste claims to have rescued his TikTok co-star from a lab in Las Vegas, where the monkey's mother was allegedly killed

'Labs do not give away monkeys,' Dr. Deborah 'Missy' Williams, an adjunct professor at Florida Atlantic University who has overseen the Dania Beach monkey colony since 2014, told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. 'They euthanize them,' she added.

Williams is accusing Feaste of taking the vervet from the Dania Beach monkey colony near the Fort Lauderdale airport five years ago.

The biologist has sent complaints to police throughout the country and emails to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission stating her claims.

Besides videos that Feaste, who is originally from Tampa, has taken at the colony and her own suspicions, Williams does not have any concrete evidence to prove her theory. 

Feaste insists that Thabo did not come from Fort Lauderdale, and his critics have no evidence to prove that he did. 

When asked for evidence proving that the monkey is from a lab, Feaste said, 'there is no such paperwork needed or required by any governmental agency that possessing Thabo would have fallen under. If there was, I would have it.' 

Feaste says that even if Thabo did come from the colony in Fort Lauderdale - taking the monkey wouldn't be illegal because vervet monkeys are not protected. He also claims to have the permit necessary to snag the animal. 

Expert biologists who are skeptical of Feaste's claims say that it is not likely that he rescued the monkey from a lab in Las Vegas

One of the most shocking videos uploaded to the TikTok account features Thabo behind the steering wheel of a car, operating the vehicle as it cruises down the road

Another shows Thabo leaping around a Walmart store, perching on computer displays, climbing shelves and jumping in ball pits

'If there was an injured monkey in Fort Lauderdale I could just literally get it in my possession and then at that point it would be illegal for me to release it and not keep it,' he said. 

FWC officials declined to comment on the situation, stating that they do not comment on active investigations - but did not elaborate on the nature of the probe. 

Feaste addressed Williams' allegations in a TikTok. 'Deborah has been stalking us for eight months now,' he claimed in the caption of a video featuring Thabo wearing a diaper. 

'Deborah needs to mind her business and leave you and baby boy alone,' one user commented. 

One of the most shocking videos uploaded to the TikTok account features Thabo behind the steering wheel of a car, operating the vehicle as it cruises down the road. 

Another shows Thabo leaping around a Walmart store, perching on computer displays, climbing shelves and jumping in ball pits. 

Feaste frequently shares food with Thabo and shares videos of the pair munching on watermelon, chicken wings and even a lollipop. 

Thabo and the other monkey from Dania Beach colony were originally imported from Africa for medical research - but then escaped from the farm that housed them in the 1940s, according to scientists.

The monkeys now live in relative freedom amongst the mangroves and industrial warehouses near Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. 

Williams protects the monkeys and feeds them bananas and other owners of local businesses are protective over them. 

Feaste frequently shares food with Thabo and shares videos of the pair munching on watermelon, chicken wings and even a lollipop

Feaste insists, 'My monkey has been well taken care of,' he said. 'We live in mansions and have lots of money and live a good life'

'They're my babies,' said Rebecca Knowles, a fleet maintenance coordinator at an environmental company where about 20 of the monkeys live. 'Whenever I'm here having a bad day, I walk outside and see them playing and stuff, like little humans.' 

Because they live in a densely populated urban area, a number of the monkeys have sadly died in car collisions or due to electrocution by powerlines. 

Animal advocates insist that, regardless of Thabo's origins, he belongs in the wild and not as a pet. 

Vervet monkeys become too aggressive for owners to handle at the age of five, Thabo's current age.

Owners are forced to remove their teeth or get rid of the animals completely when they become too violent. 

Feaste insists that this is not an issue with Thabo. 'My monkey has been well taken care of,' he said. 'We live in mansions and have lots of money and live a good life.'

'There are monkeys getting their brains open and [they're] putting microchips inside of them in labs as we speak,' Feaste said, 'but you're worried about Thabo and Ray off the Internet.'