Zoo specialists are investigating after 9 monkeys died in two days in Hong Kong’s oldest zoo.
Eight of the animals have been discovered useless on Sunday and one other died on Monday after displaying uncommon behaviour at Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens.
Components of the zoo have been sealed off and disinfected and specialists have been referred to as in to conduct necropsies and toxicological assessments, Hong Kong chief John Lee mentioned.
The useless animals included a De Brazza’s monkey, a standard squirrel monkey, 4 white-faced sakis and three cotton-top tamarins, that are a species listed as critically endangered by the Worldwide Union for Conservation of Nature.
Zoo workers are additionally monitoring a De Brazza’s monkey that was behaving unusually, the federal government mentioned.
All 80 different animals within the gardens have been in a standard situation, it added.
The deaths raised considerations a couple of attainable outbreak of a zoonotic illness similar to monkeypox, which might bounce from animals to people, mentioned Jason Baker, senior vp of animal rights group PETA Asia.
“Monkeys in captivity are often exposed to pathogens that cause diseases that can be transmitted to humans, including tuberculosis, Chagas disease, cholera and MRSA,” he mentioned.
He argued the one approach to make sure the well-being of animals and forestall the unfold of such illnesses was to cease confining them in unnatural environments.
