The monkey will be placed in quarantine for 30 days at Yates’ wildlife compound while he is tested for diseases. Yates said he is pretty certain Cornelius is disease-free.

He will be kept in a 6-by-10- foot, chain-link cage in sight of other animals — Yates said he currently has five monkeys at his property — but will not be free to mingle with them.

"It’s going to be different for him," Yates said. "He’s going to have to adjust."

The probability that the monkey will have to be euthanized is "next to zero" now that he has been captured, Yates said.

So what’s next for Cornelius?

Martin, the FWC spokesman, said the monkey will likely go to a sanctuary in Florida to be with other monkeys; several have already expressed interest.

It’s unclear if Cornelius, who appears to be about 5 years old and could live another 15, will get along with others. Some have speculated that he was forced out of a colony of monkeys in Silver Springs before launching his famous life on the lam.

"I’m sure he’ll be delighted to see others of his own kind," said Yates.

Woodman said that while the public has cheered the monkey’s evasive antics, the creature probably has been lonely.

"Envision the movie Castaway, with Tom Hanks — when he was so lonely that he formed a relationship with a volleyball," Woodman said. "Nobody said, ’Oh, yeah, but he’s free.’ "

Not everyone thinks it’s so certain.

"He may have great problems or he may be able to reintegrate," said Dr. Agustin Fuentes, a primate expert at the University of Notre Dame.

Fuentes said a lot will depend on the facility where he is placed, the experience he had with other monkeys earlier in life and how other monkeys will react to him.

"I hope they do right by him and don’t keep him in a cage by himself for too long," Fuentes said. "Hopefully, it will have a happy ending."