TORONTO — Comedy star Ricky Gervais has donated a signed guitar to an Ontario primate sanctuary that houses the Ikea monkey.
Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary, northeast of Toronto, is now auctioning off the instrument on eBay.ca, with bids set to close on Jan. 14 at 9 p.m. ET.
Gervais, a well-known animal lover, used the guitar during filming of the upcoming comedy, "Special Correspondents," in Toronto.
The sanctuary in Sunderland, Ont., says proceeds from the sale will help build a new enclosure for Darwin, a.k.a. the Ikea monkey, and new roommates Cody and Pugsley.
Darwin has been living at the sanctuary for three years. A court placed him there after he was found wandering outside a Toronto Ikea store wearing a shearling coat in an incident that went viral.
Cody and Pugsley, who are male Rhesus macaque monkeys, will be Darwin's first roommates. They are set to arrive this month from a transplant research lab at a Canadian university.
Gervais, who is slated to host the Golden Globe Awards on Sunday, wrote, directed and stars in "Special Correspondents."