Loose Pet Monkey That Bit 3 Put Down

Police in Asheville say a monkey running loose on the streets bit three people.

Officers say they were called around 4:30 p.m. Sunday for a report of the monkey on Upland Road.

Three people said the monkey bit them. Two were injured on the ear and one was bit on the finger.

"We thought it was cute at first. We didn't try to hold it or anything and then it jumped on us," said Jeannie Deweese who was bitten by the monkey.

Deweese says she and her daughter were standing in their yard, when the monkey came over.

The monkey, described as a small brown, white and gray marmoset named Cous Cous belongs to Deweese's neighbor.

"She is a loveable animal. She would never attack anyone. I think she was scared," said Cous Cous's owner Gabrielle Campiformia.


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Rarest Gorilla Revealed in Camera Trap Video

An extraordinary new video reveals the first camera trap footage of the Cross River gorilla, the world's rarest gorilla.

Although the video, shot by Wildlife Conservation Society conservationists in Cameroon's Kagwene Gorilla Sanctuary, is only a few minutes long, it presents a vivid microcosm of these primates' lives -- their suffering at the hands of humans, their struggle, but also their pride.

As the footage (see it below) begins, you can see one gorilla stopping briefly to rest under a tree, but then compelled to move forward by the troop. When another spots the camera trap, it briefly charges, Tarzan style, toward the screen, beating its chest.

Watching the footage, the connection to these magnificent animals, who are in turn so connected to us on the primate family tree, is undeniable. You can see how one gorilla has lost its hand, likely in a snare set by poachers, but the individual keeps moving and trying to survive. One can only wonder how hard that gorilla's life is now.

Fewer than 250 Cross River gorillas remain in the world. This video footage may be one of the last reminders of their existence. They are rarely observed by field researchers, so who knows when such footage will ever be captured again.

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Inebriated Largo Driver Found With Monkey

When police pulled over a man speeding on East Bay Drive Thursday night they no doubt got surprise when they found a monkey in the truck along with him.

According to police, officers pulled over 36-year-old Eugene Carl Kotelman, who was driving 70 mph on the road, just after midnight Friday morning.

Police discovered Kotelman had been driving on a suspended license and had a lengthy history of DUI charges. He was again arrested for DUI.

The monkey, who was in the truck with him at the time, was turned over to one of his friends.

When Kotelman posted bond this morning he was arrested again by FWC for Possession of Wildlife and 2 counts Violation of Fish or Wildlife Rules.

The monkey is now in FWC custody.


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Baboons Recognize Real Words from Gibberish

Baboons can learn to tell the difference between real four-letter words and nonsense combinations of letters. And once they figure out the patterns, these monkeys can guess with impressive accuracy whether a new word is real or fake.

Because baboons can’t actually read, a new study supports the theory that the brains of our primate ancestors held the necessary hardware for understanding written words long before humans evolved. Only after we starting writing and reading about 5,400 years or so did we apply our object-recognition abilities to letter symbols.

And even though we think of letters as sound units that allow us to piece words together, the new findings suggest that our brains may also view written letters like the legs on a table or the wheels on a car. Each part fits together to create an object that we recognize as a whole.

Eventually, the findings might weigh in on debates about how best to teach children to read.
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“Obviously, we are using letters to get from the printed to the spoken form, and it is absolutely essential for kids to learn that this has to happen, but that’s only part of the story,” said Jonathan Grainger, a cognitive psychologist at CNRS, a national research center in Marseille, France. “The other reason we use letters in the very first phases of learning to read is that we’re basically doing what we do with ordinary everyday objects – using object parts to reconstruct the whole identity.”

“We can now look at what happens when baboons are learning words and also associating them with meaning,” he added. “We have a new paradigm that needs to be explored.”


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Conan The Chimp Fathers Second Surprise Baby Chimp, Despite Two Vasectomies

Conan, the twice-vasectomized former research chimp, has fathered yet another surprise baby at Chimp Haven.

That makes two for Conan, and there may be a third on the way.

That's the word from the Keithville sanctuary, following DNA testing to determine the paternity of Valentina Rose, born on Valentine's Day to 29-year-old Flora.

This surprised Chimp Haven employees because all of the males chimps in the group have had vasectomies. Especially Conan, who was re-vasectomized after another unexpected birth in 2006.

Tracy was born to Theresa in 2006. DNA testing pointed to Conan. In fact, Valentina's mother, Flora, lives in the same social group as Tracy. "Tracy and Valentina Rose are half-sisters," says Chimp Haven Director, Dr. Linda Brent.

Flora's surprise pregnancy prompted a round of tests for the rest of the females in her group, which revealed yet another pregnancy. 42-year-old Ginger is expected to deliver in late July or early August.

Testing to determine the paternity of that baby chimp cannot be done until after the birth.

Regardless, Conan is set to be vasectomized - again - immediately.



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Monkey Restrained And Left Alone Dies In New Brunswick Lab

Five months after a monkey was scalded to death in an industrial washing machine at its lab in Pennington, Bristol-Myers Squibb has again been cited by the U.S. Department of Agriculture after a second crab-eating macaque died at a New Jersey facility.

This time, the monkey died at the New Brunswick lab after it was left restrained and unattended, according to an inspection report from the USDA.

Company spokeswoman Jennifer Fron-Mauer confirmed the death, which occurred Dec. 17, but could not provide specific details as to how the primate died or its gender.

"Employees failed to follow established company policies and procedures designed to protect animals in our care," Fron-Mauer said in an email yesterday. "When those policies and procedures are not followed, disciplinary action is taken."

She did not say what kind of punishment was meted out.


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Gorilla Briefly Escapes Buffalo Zoo, Bites Keeper

A 400-pound gorilla that escaped from its cage at an upstate New York zoo and bit a zookeeper has been captured in a zookeepers’ lounge and has been tranquilized.

The Buffalo Zoo says a 24-year-old male gorilla named Koga got out of his cage into an aisle where the keeper was working Monday morning and bit her on the hand and calf.

The keeper locked herself in with the zoo’s other gorillas and called the animal escape team.

Police locked down the zoo while Koga was confined to a lounge outside public areas and was tranquilized.

The Buffalo Zoo has six western lowland gorillas in its main animal building: Koga, four females and a baby female. It’s investigating how Koga escaped.

The zookeeper suffered minor bite wounds. She was taken to a hospital for evaluation.



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Gorilla Genome Sheds New Light On Human Evolution

Scientists have sequenced the genome of the gorilla, the last great ape to have its genes decoded, and say it gives new insights into differences between the apes and humans -- including their ability to produce competitive sperm.

While confirming that our closest relative is the chimpanzee, the research also shows that around 15 percent of the human gene map resembles the gorilla more closely than it does the chimpanzee genome.

Chris Tyler-Smith, who worked with a team of scientists who presented their findings in a telephone briefing, said that while many human genes are similar to the gorilla versions, it is the ones that differ that are often most intriguing.

One difference that stuck out was in the genes involved in sperm production, he said.

"Gorillas live in groups with one male and lots of females, so there's not much opportunity for sperm competition," he explained. "It was interesting for us to see that some genes involved in sperm formation...had either become inactive in gorillas or had decreased in copy number."


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Zoo Gives Aging Gorilla A Bunny Companion

An elderly gorilla that lives at a Pennsylvania zoo has a new companion: a bunny named Panda. The Erie Zoo's gorilla, Samantha, has been without a full-time friend since the death of Rudy, a male gorilla, in 2005.

But officials say the 47-year-old western lowland gorilla is too old to be paired with another gorilla. So they opted last month to introduce her to Panda, a Dutch rabbit, last month.

The Erie Times-News reports Samantha and Panda get along well. Samantha will gently scratch under the bunny's chin and share her food.

Officials at the zoo say Samantha has always had a gentle personality. She was hand-raised and was more comfortable around humans even when Rudy was alive.


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Sanctuary Chimp Pregnancies A Surprise As Males Sterilized

After two unexpected pregnancies at a sanctuary for retired research chimpanzees, other female chimps have been put on birth control and the males are getting a new round of vasectomies.

The pregnancy at Chimp Haven, opened in 2005 near Shreveport, was discovered on Valentine's Day when a worker noticed Flora, a 29-year-old chimp, carrying a newborn.

Chimpanzees like to carry things around, and the worker thought Flora was holding a stuffed toy. Then she saw a tiny foot, sanctuary director Linda Brent said Monday.

An ultrasound Friday confirmed 49-year-old Ginger also was pregnant and due in late July or early August, Brent said.

Every male gets a vasectomy before being sent to Chimp Haven because there's a surplus of captive chimpanzees.


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