By Breanne Cyr, Primate Behavior Specialist and Fallon Mullen, Animal Care Manager
In June we received a call about a two and half year old African Green monkey in need of sanctuary placement. He was a pet monkey who had been kept illegally and was now at a temporary holding facility. We have recently had to turn down many placement requests due to the sanctuary being near capacity; however, this request was different in that it was one of the few individuals we felt we could possibly integrate with one of our existing troops. Introducing… Gizmo!
As you may recall, Jojo is also an African Green monkey and his groupmate, Bella, is a Vervet monkey. These two species are remarkably similar and are often simply called “vervets.” Jojo is still quite youthful at the age of six whereas Bella is young in spirit, but not quite as energetic at her older age of 23. Bella and Jojo have been best buddies since Jojo’s arrival in 2019! As Bella ages, we’ve wondered whether another young vervet in need of placement could be a good addition—someone to spend his/her days playing with Jojo and give Bella some well-earned relaxation.
Gizmo’s young age would facilitate his acceptance into the vervet group and give Jojo more time to connect with another young monkey before growing older and potentially less open to new groupmates. Since Jojo will likely outlive Bella, taking in another monkey companion would ensure that he would not have to be alone once Bella passes (which, side note, we’ve all decided can never happen because we love her too much!). Therefore, after weighing all the pros and cons and in consulting with an experienced expert in sanctuary vervet socializations, we decided that there was a high likelihood of a group of three being successfully formed and that it could potentially benefit all three monkeys.
Logistically, Gizmo would be relatively easy to transport to the sanctuary aside from one caveat. As is true with many pet primates, Gizmo had never been to the vet or had any medical care (it is very hard to find veterinary care for pet primates because they are exotic animals and illegal to own as pets in many places). Before we take any monkeys in, however, we have to ensure they are free of any communicable diseases and do a general physical exam. Fortunately, we were able to pull together our team including one of our vets to travel to him to perform his physical examination right away.
Following his clear exam, we transported Gizmo to Primates Incorporated where he could begin discovering his forever home, living as free as possible as a captive monkey. As is required for all new arrivals to protect everyone, Gizmo had to go through a regulatory quarantine period before having access to Bella and Jojo and the rest of the monkey crew.
After the quarantine period, we released Gizmo into the bedroom right next to Bella and Jojo with just a fine mesh wall in between. This would give all three monkeys time to safely familiarize and interact with each other. We paid close attention to their group dynamics before letting them have full contact “dates” with each other roughly a week later. As Bella is dominant, she got to meet Gizmo with no barriers first. While Gizmo was not shy, Bella was quick to accept him, just as she had been (and still is!) so accepting and motherly to Jojo. She wasted no time in grooming him and patiently allowed him to tug on her tail to ask her to play. Gizmo was filled with excitement having another monkey to play with for the first time in his life!
Then Jojo got to meet Gizmo while Bella ate one of her favorite fruit popsicles outside. Jojo was a bit more bashful of Gizmo’s bold excitement to play, explore all of the enclosure, furniture, and toys like a kid at an amusement park. While it was evident that Gizmo would have to learn to respect the other monkeys’ boundaries and Jojo would have an adjustment period having a younger “sibling,” these were things that were expected and would just take time for the monkeys to adjust to. Hence, we let Bella back inside (which also made Jojo more comfortable, since he trusts her like a mother) and the Primates Inc. vervet duo became a trio!
While we are relieved to be able to provide a home for Gizmo and he was quick to win our hearts, Gizmo’s story as a pet is all too common. People pay upwards of $10,000-$15,000 for the special and cute baby monkey that won’t stay the manageable baby they envision. We learned that as a pet, Gizmo was often kept in diapers and leash, which had given him hair loss and skin irritation in his waist and thigh area. On top of this, supporting the pet trade industry is fueling the mistreatment of monkeys by taking babies away from their mothers far too early for healthy development and having living situations that are often unsuitable for normal behavior.
The HBO docu-series Chimp Crazy shed some light on the large issue. The Captive Primate Safety Act has also been reintroduced to Congress. This critical legislation is aimed at protecting primates and ending the primate pet trade in the United States.
What can you do?
Help support this legislation (Visit: https://awionline.org/legislation/captive-primate-safety-act)
Rather than purchasing a pet monkey, symbolically sponsor a sanctuary animal or volunteer at a local accredited facility instead
Spread the word
To meet Gizmo and the rest of our residents, come on out to our next Open House on August 17, 2025 or our Monkey Palooza Fun Day on September 14, 2025!
Welcome to the Primates Inc. family, Gizmo!!
Gizmo:
Left to right: Gizmo, Jojo, Bella
Bella grooming Gizmo shortly after meeting him:
