New monkeys at Zoo Boise
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New Patas monkeys arrive at Zoo Boise and help spur further growth. Video by IdahoOnYourSide.com
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They say every dark cloud has a silver lining, and that's certainly the case for Zoo Boise.
Since one of its Patas monkeys was killed last month, the zoo received two new Patas monkeys Wednesday night.
Also, its plans for a new monkey house are moving along swiftly and it plans to become a breeding facility for Patas monkeys which are in short supply in the United States.
The media had to don gloves and masks to meet DJ and Kabibi, two new female Patas monkeys that a lot is riding on.
"They're not stressed so it seems to be going well," said zoo vet Holly Peters.
They easily endured their flight from the east coast, but now comes the hard part. First they have to get used to the man of the house, Incus.
"We'll keep them in side by side cages so they can smell each other," said Boise Zoo's Steve Burns. "We hope he enjoys his new friends."
If he does, more Patas monkeys could be on the way, and they'll need a bigger home. So far, efforts for that have been coming in fast.
"Donations we've received already from events before and ones to come we have about 75,000 already of the 209 thousand right now and we hoe the community continues to support us and we can't thank them enough," said Burns.
The public outpouring of support after the loss of Incus's previous companion has surely helped.
"We're reallly excited about taking something that was a very hard day for us and turning it into something positive," zoo vet Holly Peters said.
In the meantime, they're focused on keeping the monkeys healthy and happy, and hopefully good things will follow. The monkeys will not be on public display until after their quarantine is complete near the end of January.
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