Postscript : Chinese Monkeys May Visit Again

It has been a year since two Chinese golden monkeys stirred the hearts of San Diegans during an extended visit to the San Diego Zoo.

But popular demand may bring the monkeys--who stayed for five months--back for a return engagement within the next couple of years, according to zoo spokesman Jeff Jouett.

More than 1.25 million people saw the monkeys in San Diego, Jouett said. That represented an 8% increase in zoo attendance for the period, amounting to an additional $300,000 in revenue.

Some people came several times a week to keep tabs on the animals. Part of their interest stemmed from the fact that the female was thought to have become pregnant in San Diego, although this proved to be false.

“Everybody was kind of in love with them,” Jouett said. “They’re beautiful primates. They are really striking, with baby blue faces and long hair on their shoulders and thick fur that is like fuzzy slippers.”

The rare golden monkeys were kept in a glass enclosure to protect them and other animals from diseases. But Jouett said there were no health problems other than a few minor dietary changes. A Chinese veterinarian and a keeper stayed in San Diego with the monkeys to ensure that any changes needed in their diet or environment could be made.

The monkeys were brought to San Diego under a cultural exchange program that San Diego has conducted with China since 1979, Jouett said. In the last six years, 60 to 70 animals have been exchanged, with the San Diego Zoo sending the Chinese orangutans, hippos, white rhinoceroses, rattlesnakes and a variety of birds. In return, San Diego has received, among others, Francois leaf monkeys; a Chinese dhole , or wild dog, and a Chinese monal, or pheasant.

Since the golden monkeys returned to China in March, two San Diego Zoo delegations have been to China to work on a second monkey exhibit and possibly an exhibit with several of China’s giant pandas. “We are hopeful about being able to get the pandas,” Jouett said. However, no dates have been set for either special exhibit.

The golden monkey exhibit also brought attention to the plight of the giant pandas, which are on the endangered species list and number less than 1,000 in the wild. While the monkeys were in San Diego, two signs were posted next to the exhibit that described the bamboo shortage that is causing starvation among wild pandas. Donation boxes next to the graphic display accumulated $35,000 over the course of the five months.

The money reflects the “great interest in helping the pandas,” Jouett said. “It was a lot of small bills and change, so a lot of people had to contribute.”

The Zoological Society also contributed $150,000. The entire $185,000 was given to the China Wildlife Conservation Assn.