(From left) A combination picture shows a De Brazza’s monkey and a white-faced saki. - Screencaps from Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens
HONG KONG: The zoo authorities in Hong Kong are keeping close watch on a monkey that is behaving unusually a day after the ninth death of one of their animals this week, while hastening tests to find out what killed them.
During the monitoring, the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens (HKZBG) will keep its mammals section shut, after having closed it for disinfection and cleaning on Monday (Oct 14).
“Government departments will speed up autopsy and toxicological testing,” the Hong Kong government said in a statement, as it scrambles to pinpoint the cause of the deaths.
The ninth monkey, belonging to the white-faced saki species, died a day after the deaths of a De Brazza’s monkey, a common squirrel monkey, three cotton-top tamarins and three white-faced sakis on Oct 13, it added.
The authorities will also keep watching the status of a De Brazza’s monkey that has displayed unusual movement response and appetite since Oct 14, it said.
Built in 1860, the territory's oldest park houses about 158 birds, 80 mammals and 21 reptiles in roughly 40 enclosures.
“The health conditions of all 80 animals in the HKZBG are normal,” the government said, while officials held an urgent meeting on Oct 14.
Animal welfare group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said the incident raised concerns about the risks of outbreaks of diseases such as monkeypox that can jump to humans from animals. - Reuters
