The neighbour, who lives a few houses down from the moa and elephant topiary, said about 11 years ago she noticed some members of the public climbing the elephant’s back.
She said that just as she arrived at the hedges she heard one of the group, who looked to be a hen’s party, say the monkey "made a good step".
"She put all her weight on the monkey and pushed it all the way down," the neighbour said.
The topiary and owner Iain Keir were featured in the "old photo" section of The Ensign last week, leading to questions about the trees.
After buying the land more than 15 years ago, there was never any question whether Mr Keir would keep the topiary, the neighbour said.
John Fenton, from Invercargill, trims the hedges and, despite the loss of the monkey, they were looking clean and greener than ever.
