A spider monkey, critically undernourished and clinging to health and a DUI suspect, has become the newest patient at Oakland Zoo's Veterinary Hospital. According to KRON4, the juvenile primate was saved from a compromised situation in a luxury vehicle—a Rolls Royce Ghost, no less—during a New Year's Eve arrest in Central Valley for driving under the influence and speeding.
Behind the wheel was 27-year-old Ali Mused Adel Mohamed, taken into custody by the California Highway Patrol on suspicion of DUI and the illegal possession of an exotic animal. It's a serious cocktail of offenses, particularly with the state's rigid laws concerning endangered species. The monkey, small and frail, was transported from Madera County's Animal Services to Oakland Zoo, where she currently battles a respiratory infection on top of her severe malnutrition, ABC7News reports.
The vice president of animal care at Oakland Zoo, Colleen Kinzley, stressed the severity of the situation, stating she is "very concerned about her physical and emotional well-being." According to KRON4, Kinzley highlighted the baby spider monkey's precarious state—undernourished to uncertainty regarding her age and requiring round-the-clock feeding, something she should naturally be getting from her mother.
Kinzley also illuminated the grim backstory often associated with such animals in the exotic pet trade, pointing to the tragic trend of poachers killing a wild baby monkey's mother before selling the offspring. "The mothers are shot way high up in the trees. The poachers take the little babies … a lot of them die," Kinzley told KRON4.
As for immediate care, the Oakland Zoo states that the juvenile spider monkey will have an exam under anesthesia to assess her condition comprehensively. Kinzley shared with ABC7News that the monkey's hospital environment is being carefully regulated with humidity to treat the infection, and staff are taking serious precautions to prevent further illness. "We don't want to give her, even a cold virus at this point could kill her," Kinzley remarked, indicating how fragile the monkey's health is.
