A baby monkey rides upon his mother on a street in New Delhi June 26, 2005. 35,000 cows and buffaloes roam free in Delhi in the heart of north India's Hindu 'cow belt', sharing roads with hordes of monkeys, camels and stray dogs and killing scores of people every year in gorings and traffic accidents. 

Gimme Back My Monkey!

Blaine Woman Devastated By Pet Monkey Confiscation
(WCCO) Minneapolis His owner says he's a pet, but the City of Minneapolis says he's a pest. Tracy Quinn of Blaine, Minn. left the family's pet Capuchin monkey, Muki, with a pet-sitter in Minneapolis while her family went on vacation. Muki is properly registered with federal and state authorities, Quinn said, but she didn't realize she needed a special permit in order to bring him within Minneapolis city limits. Quinn just learned that the hard way. The pet-sitter brought Muki to a park on Friday, where he interacted with some kids and gave one a kiss.


Muki the Monkey

Someone reported the incident to Minneapolis Animal Control, and Muki was confiscated and taken to a shelter in North Minneapolis. "I don't know why they took him," Quinn said tearfully Saturday. "I take him everywhere I go. He goes in stores, anywhere, as long as he's leashed and contained. "However, it's unlawful to bring an exotic animal into Minneapolis without first clearing it with Animal Control. "You have to apply for a permit," Minneapolis Animal Control Assistant Manager Tom Doty said. "When an exotic (animal) appears in our city, then we essentially have to make sure the public's safety is being cared for. "Muki will stay with animal control until it can be determined whether he posed any public health hazards. In these cases, officials say exotic animals often have to be quarantined for a while."(Animal Control) went down there and confiscated him with the officers," Quinn said, "and wouldn't let us come down (to the shelter) and bring his things down and change his diapers or take his leash off or anything until now, which is 24 hours later." Quinn said Muki seemed distraught when she went to visit him. "He was screaming and hugging me and he wouldn't let me go," Quinn said. "He even tried to bite me because I had to put him back in the kennel. "Many monkey owners believe their pets should be treated differently than other exotic animals. "Not one sweeping bill for all animals," said Bryan Mintz, owner of a monkey named Rudy. "It doesn't work. We're caught in the middle of this. "Mintz said he wasn't aware of the Minneapolis law, even though he regularly travels with Rudy around the metro. "He's a wonderful little animal," Mintz said. Quinn said she just wanted to get her pet back, but that won't happen until authorities are sure both the animal and the public are safe. "Primates are of concern," Doty said. "We want to make sure the people that know there's not going to be a public health risk are guiding us through the quarantine procedure. "Animal Control officials say they make sure exotic animals are properly cared for at their facility, even if they have to bring in outside experts. The Board of Animal Health will likely take a look at Muki's case, and then it can be determined when he can go home and how long he may have to be quarantined.

No Boo Boo, That's Not a Hamburger!

Monkey Bites Clerk, Quarantined
Last week, 27 NEWSFIRST told you about a monkey named Boo-Boo.
The animal bit store clerk ashley rodgers in Morehead.
The incident happened at the Viking BP Mart.
Rodgers says she was waiting on a customer at the drive thru who had a monkey in the car.
When she handed the person a drink, she says the monkey bit her. Store video shows Boo Boo walking up the woman's arm to grab a soft drink.
Rodger had her hand checked by a doctor. She says she's on antibiotics to guard against infection.
The monkey's caretaker, Jamie Dehart, has agreed to pay Rodger's medical bill.
Meanwhile, Boo Boo is in monkey quarantine at the primate rescue center in Nicholasville.
Once he is out of quarantine, he will join the other monkeys at the center.
Boo Boo's caretaker says she had already plan to take him to the Nicholasville primate center before the incident happened.

Is that Michael Jackson hiding over there?

Chimpanzee Julliet holds her 90-day-old offspring Honey inside a zoo on a hot day in Lahore June 23, 2005. Honey has been feeling uneasy for the past week after temperature in Lahore rose up to 46 degrees Celsius (114.8 degrees Fahrenheit), a zoo worker said on Thursday. At least 375 people have died from sunstroke and dehydration in a month-long heat wave sweeping India, Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh, as South Asia endures one of its hottest summers on record, authorities said.

What me worry?

A chimpanzee cools off in a pool in its cage at the zoo in Lahore even as more than one hundred people died in Pakistan as a result of a scorching heatwave.

Cool Monkeys

Two monkeys at Rome's zoo play together in the waters of a swimming pool during a hot afternoon, Thursday, June 23, 2005. The Summer season announced itself today with a steep rise in temperature, reaching over 30C (86 Fahrenheit) degrees in Rome.

Thirsty Monkeys

Two monkeys fight for a bottle of drink left by a visitor at a zoo in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang province June 23, 2005. While 22 provinces in south and east China are suffering from heavy flooding, other areas have been struck by heatwaves and drought, state media reported.

Monkeynapped!

Masked Men Steal Monkey, Police Say
Miami-Dade County police are looking for three home invasion robbers who they said stole a monkey this morning.
"I awoke and went to check on the animals about 4:30 a.m. and as I exited my bedroom door, I was smacked by a very large man, pointing a gun at me," said primatologist Sian Evans, who was caring for the monkey after it was abandoned by its mother.
The masked men also got away with money and jewelry from the Redlands home at 15460 S.W. 216th Street.
Police think the owl monkey, named Tulip, bit one of the robbers, so they have issued an alert to area hospitals, asking them to be on the lookout for anyone coming in with an unusual bite.
"They're not going to want to keep it very long," said Lt. Pat Reynolds of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. "I think they're going to be going around today, trying to pawn it off."
Investigators said they are in touch with exotic animal dealers to see if anyone approaches them with the animal.
Evans is concerned for the animal because she said it is only used to her and her husband and that it requires a special diet.

More Monkey Business!

Monkey goes into business for itself
June 22 2005 at 08:55AM
By Linda MbongwaThe Johannesburg Zoo's "Zoo to You" programme came to the people, but not the way zookeepers intended.For more than two hours, Johannesburg's Jan Smuts Avenue was closed to traffic to allow emergency services to capture a monkey that had escaped from the zoo on Tuesday.A zookeeper noticed one of their seven mona monkeys was missing from the cage when he made his daily check. On further inspection, zoo staff spotted the German-born monkey lurking just outside its cage, tried to catch it but it proved much too elusive for them.After leading the keepers a merry dance around the zoo, the monkey scaled a perimeter wall and nipped over Jan Smuts Avenue, disappearing up a tree in Parkview.
Jennifer Gray, Joburg Zoo CEO, said metro police and the Johannesburg fire department had helped capture the monkey.A vet was summoned to dart it and the fire department had used a ladder to pull the sleeping monkey from the tree."It was taken to hospital where the anaesthetic was reversed to wake him up and for a vet to check if everything was fine," said Gray. Zoo spokesperson Senzo Ngcobo said the monkey had been brought to the zoo from Germany with six others about three months ago.The monkeys, which are found in Grenada in the Caribbean, had completed the zoo's mandatory quarantine period. The period, which lasts between 13 and 45 days, involves isolating and constantly monitoring the monkeys to check whether they were adapting and disease-free.Ngcobo said he had received calls from people complaining that perhaps the Joburg Zoo was taking the "Zoo To You" campaign bit too far."Zoo To You" is a mobile zoo programme, in which animals such as snakes are taken to different areas, mostly to schools that cannot afford to bring their pupils to the zoo.

Rebel Monkey

Monkey Bites Cop
Burdwan, June 20: Three monkeys have wreaked havoc at Purbasthali here, biting and clawing almost 60 people in 10 days.
Among the victims were a dozen policemen. The Purbasthali police station, 120 km from Calcutta, virtually downed shutters today after a constable, Amal Tripathi, was bitten while escorting a duo from the lock-up to the bathroom. Tripathi was admitted to Kalna Subdivisional Hospital. The police station doors are being opened if knocked at. The personnel inside are ensuring whether it is indeed the knock of a human being — a comp-lainant or a fellow policeman. Kalna subdivisional police officer Rabindranath Bhattacharya said: “We are worried.... Forest department officials have been asked to capture the monkeys that have taken shelter on a banyan tree. But they have not responded.”

It's A Crazy World Out There, Mr. Monkey!

Escaped Monkey Must Not Like Life On Outside; Returns To Zoo
POSTED: 10:59 am EDT June 20, 2005
SAN DIEGO -- Freedom isn't all that great. At least to one escaped monkey.
Takala, a golden-bellied mangabey, got out of the new monkey exhibit at the San Diego Zoo Friday. But he was found less than an hour later, waiting to get back inside.
Zookeepers said they were searching for Takala, when they opened an outside door to the monkey exhibit and he walked right in. Officials had moved visitors away from the area while searching for the monkey.
Officials said Takala escaped through a hole in the netting around the enclosure. But they're not sure if Takala actually made the hole or just found it.
The $28 million Monkey Trails and Forest Tales exhibit opened this month and has been promoted by the zoo as a more natural and visitor-friendly setting than its original monkey habitat.

I Admire All of the Greats....DaVinci, Van Gogh, Mr. Monkey!

Paintings by Chimpanzee Outsell Warhol
Mon Jun 20, 4:47 PM ET
LONDON - Monkey business proved to be lucrative Monday when paintings by Congo the chimpanzee sold at auction for more than $25,000.


Undated Bonhams handout photo of a painting by Congo the Chimp. Paintings by the chimpanzee netted more than 14,000 (US$25,620; 20,917) after going under the hammer alongside works by Renoir and Andy Warhol on Monday June 20, 2005. The three abstract pieces up for auction at Bonhams in London were painted by Congo in 1957 and were estimated to fetch between 600, (US$1,000, 813) and 800 (US$1,500, 1,220). An American bidder named Howard Hong, who described himself as an 'enthusiast of modern an d contemporary painting,' purchased the lot of paintings.

The three abstract, tempera paintings were auctioned at Bonhams in London alongside works by impressionist master Renoir and pop art provocateur Andy Warhol.
But while Warhol's and Renoir's work didn't sell, bidders lavished attention on Congo's paintings. An American bidder named Howard Hong, who described himself as an "enthusiast of modern and contemporary painting," purchased the lot of paintings for $26,352, including a buyer's premium.
The sale price surpassed predictions that priced the paintings between $1,000-$1,500.
"We had no idea what these things were worth," said Howard Rutkowski, director of modern and contemporary art at Bonhams. "We just put them in for our own amusement."
Congo, born in 1954, produced about 400 drawings and paintings between ages 2 and 4. He died in 1964 of tuberculosis.
His artwork provoked reactions ranging from scorn to skepticism among critics of the time, but Pablo Picasso is reported to have hung a Congo painting on his studio wall after receiving it as a gift.
"There's no precedent for things like this having been sold before," Rutkowski said.

A pissed Andy Warhol!

H & R Monkey

Social Security Beaten by Monkey

A new video, produced by Freestar Media, LLC (viewable at http://www.freestarmedia.com/), shows a monkey throwing darts at investments and getting a better rate of return than humans throwing darts at a board representing the rates of return of Social Security.
Los Angeles, Calif. (PRWEB) June 15, 2005 -- A new video, produced by Freestar Media, LLC (viewable at http://www.freestarmedia.com/), shows a monkey throwing darts at investments and getting a better rate of return than humans throwing darts at a board representing the rates of return of Social Security.The video, which was sponsored by a California car dealership, is part of a new wave of "viral videos" circulating on the Internet. "Viral videos" are spread with the same geometric expansion as written jokes passed around by e-mail. They allow independent video producers finance their work through ad sales while distributing their content to millions for free.In Freestar's video a monkey threw Velcro ball darts at nine investments: the three largest diversified mutual funds, adjusted for inflation and fees, the mutual funds that the government offers its own employees, known as Thrift Savings Plans C, F and G. adjusted for inflation and fees, and the long-term inflation-adjusted averages: of large company stocks, long-term corporate bonds and long-term government bonds.Humans threw darts at Social Security's returns for nine different demographics: a single male born in 1950, a single female born in 1950, a double earner family with two kids with the parents born in 1950, a single male born in 1960, a single female born in 1960, a double earner family with two kids with the parents born in 1960, a single male born in 1970, a single female born in 1970, and a double earner family with two kids with the parents born in 1970.The rates of return for Social Security were based on a Social Security Administration trustee's report analyzed by the Heritage Center for Data Analysis. The rates of return for stock and bond investments were based on long-run stock returns as reported by Ibbotson Associates analyzed and adjusted for inflation by the Cato Institute. The Thrift Savings Program returns were collected from the Thrift Savings Program Web site. The rates of return of the three largest mutual funds were gathered from the websites of the companies that manage these funds. All numbers were rounded to the nearest decimal by Freestar Media, LLC which is the ultimately responsible for the accuracy of the figures. Freestar Media, LLC is a Los Angeles based company that produces videos showcasing the clash between freedom and force. Its founder, Logan Darrow Clements, hopes to spread the ideas of Objectivist philosopher Ayn Rand with the same degree of financial success that Michael Moore has enjoyed speading the ideas of Karl Marx. Freestar Media, LLC is solely responsible for its content.

Thirsty Monkey

A monkey drinks water from a tap at a zoo in Zhengzhou, capital of central China's Henan province, June 13, 2005. Zhengzhou started experiencing extremely hot weather as temperatures rose to above 37 degrees celcius (98.6 degree fahrenheit).

Will he bring Moe another cupcake?

Man begins to recover from chimpanzee attack



Posted 06/13/05

BAKERSFIELD - The man who was attacked by two chimpanzees in March is beginning to recover.
An attorney for 62-year-old St. James Davis of West Covina said he has been taken out of his medically-induced coma.
Davis was attacked when he and his wife were visiting the Animal Haven Ranch in Havilah to celebrate the 39th birthday of their pet chimp, Moe.

Way To Go, Mr. Monkey!

DAVIS UPSET ABOUT CHIMP'S NAUGHTY ACT
Former SEX AND THE CITY star KRISTIN DAVIS upset her mother when she let a chimpanzee unbutton her shirt and peak at her breasts as paparazzi photographers happily snapped away.


The actress became very fond of ape star MOWGLI on the set on new film THE SHAGGY DOGG and allowed him to button and unbutton her tops after discovering it was one of his favourite pastimes.
But she was left red-faced when she forgot the paparazzi had targeted the set - and she was caught with her simian pal's head in her shirt.
She explains, "What he'd really like to do was practice buttoning and unbuttoning my clothes. They're kind of like toddlers, you know, they're like learning.
"We were on the steps of City Hall in Los Angeles and we were there for a week and all the paparazzi were there but you kind of forget about them after a while.
"So Mowgli has unbuttoned my shirt and is actually like just kind of examining and that's the picture that, of course, was in the magazines.
"It was a little freaky, my mom didn't like that."

Carry on my wayward monkey!

Monkey runs wild in Tokyo for 2 months
A wild monkey that abruptly appeared in Shibuya-ku in late April has since been roaming around downtown Tokyo to the frustration of police officers, metropolitan government officials said.


A monkey clings to an electric wire in Taito-ku, Tokyo, on June 8.

The government of Kita-ku, where the monkey appeared, installed a cage with food in a bid to trap the animal, but it was a raccoon dog that was caught.
Experts and local government officials have urged residents not to approach the animal.
"Don't chase the monkey or feed the animal," said Motoharu Ida, the chief monkey breeder at Ueno Zoo.
The Taito-ku government warned local residents not to approach the monkey if they spot the animal.
Three residents reported that they spotted a monkey in the Hiroo district of Shibuya-ku on April 30, according to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's public health section.
The monkey that three people reported having spotted is believed to be the same animal. The metropolitan government has received information that the monkey was seen in the busy Roppongi district of Minato-ku during the same period.
The monkey subsequently moved in a clockwise direction in the following month, traveling north from Shinjuku-ku to Bunkyo-ku and then to Kita-ku where it wandered around for another month. It then moved to Arakawa-ku early this month and then to Taito-ku.
Last Friday, the monkey was spotted jumping onto the 1.5-meter-high fence of well-known Sensoji Temple in the Asakusa-district of Taito-ku, and running on top of it. "I thought it was a cat," a temple official said.
Ueno Zoo's Ida said the animal is probably a male wild Japanese monkey, noting that it has a short tail and is acting alone. He added that the monkey appears to be comparatively young, 4 to 10 years old.
If captured, the metropolitan government will conduct a DNA test on the monkey to determine if it is wild. If it proves to be wild, the animal will be set free in a mountainous area.
The metropolitan government has not received any reports that a pet monkey has escaped. Those who keep Japanese monkeys are required to notify the metropolitan government under law. (Mainichi)

Nice Shirt!

Nice shirt! : A Sumatran orangutan dresses herself with a shirt at the Moscow Zoo. 

You had me worried sick, Monkey...now go to your room!

Who rattled his cage? Moody monkey finally back at zoo
Mon Jun 6, 5:17 PM ET
LONDON (AFP) - A sulking monkey has returned home a week after storming off following a bust-up with his dad, Belfast Zoo confirmed.
Moody Kevin, a black-furred, white-tailed Colobus monkey, trooped off in a huff after falling out with his father.
But after a week of monkeying around in the woods behind the zoo, three feet (0.91 metre) tall Kevin finally climbed down and ended his self-imposed exile.
Zoo manager Mark Challis was thrilled Kevin had stopped being a cheeky monkey.
"It's obviously been a horrendous week for all of us at the zoo, so we are delighted he has returned," he told Britain's domestic Press Association news agency.
"Kevin looks fine. He appears to have been fed well and we're glad to have him back."
It's been somewhat of a chimpanzee's tea party for the Colobus whilst on the run as local humans have joined in Kevin's monkey business, keeping him stocked up with apples and tomatoes, Challis revealed.
"The public's response to his escape has been absolutely fantastic. It's been good to know that there are a lot of people out there concerned for his welfare.
"It sounds like he's had a cracking time. He has had a week of just pottering about in the woodland but as far as the weather was concerned, we weren't really concerned because it had been mild," he added.
He had escaped from his enclosure at Belfast Zoo, Northern Ireland, and was later seen swinging from the wooden bars of a gazebo in a suburban garden before falling asleep on a windowsill.
However, before zookeepers could arrive with nets and tranquilizing darts to recapture the monkey he was off and was not spotted again.
But there now remains one potential banana skin: the zoo fears there can be no making the peace between Kevin and his father. The row is more serious than that.
"He was a growing male in the group and our best guess is that he had a fallout with his dad," Challis said.
"We will not be reintegrating him with the group. The reality is that he and the group have fallen out and we will have to move him for his own good," he said.
"I think his dad has made the decision for us and will have to find a new home for him where he can start a little group of his own."
The search is now on for a European zoo that can handle the temperamental tearaway.

Use protection, Mr. Monkey!

Threatened chimps may hold key to AIDS mystery
By Andrew Quinn
Wed Jun 8, 8:37 AM ET

DURBAN (Reuters) - Chimpanzees may hold vital clues for mankind's war against the AIDS virus, but the apes could be wiped out before they reveal their secrets, a leading genetic expert warned on Wednesday.
Paul Sharp of Britain's University of Nottingham told an AIDS conference in Durban that the latest research indicated that chimpanzees -- humanity's closest living relative -- were an important but increasingly endangered resource for scientists hoping to better understand the HIV virus.
Chimpanzee populations are infected with viruses which closely resemble the HIV-1 strain of the AIDS virus which is most common among humans.
Unlike humans, however, chimps do not progress to full-blown AIDS, an intriguing mystery for researchers who hope to discover how to slow or stop the deadly disease in humans.
"If we can understand chimpanzees maybe we can understand more about how the virus affects humans," Sharp said. "Of course, we need to do that before chimpanzees become extinct."
Some researchers fear Africa's chimpanzees could be wiped out in about 50 years -- even earlier for certain species -- because they are hunted for meat and threatened by deforestation and disease.

Smoke 'em if you got 'em!

Zoo wants chimp to kick habit
By Samantha Sordyl
Washington Post

Experts say peer pressure is a major reason people take up smoking. Charlie, a chimp at the Bloemfontein Zoo in South Africa, might be another victim.
“When he sees people smoking outside his enclosure, he begs for a cigarette,” said Daryl Barnes, the zoo’s senior nature conservator. After a visitor tosses one his way, he “has a few puffs” while sitting on the grass or a stump.
In his 15 years at the zoo, Barnes has seen Charlie smoke about five times. But this might be only because Charlie is sneaky. When caught by zookeepers, Charlie throws the cigarette down, “grins at us, bobs his head and tries to lure us away from the cigarette on the ground,” Barnes said.

The zoo thinks the habit started when Charlie was part of a Dallas-based circus.
So far, “no signs of addiction, or withdrawal, have been noticed,” Barnes said. But “we are looking at a series of measures to prevent the public from throwing food or cigarettes into his enclosure,” he said.
– Washington Post