Golden Monkey on Loan From China Dies at San Diego Zoo

SAN DIEGO — San Diego Zoo officials acknowledged Wednesday that a rare Chinese golden monkey on loan from China died last month, probably of tuberculosis.

Tissue samples from the monkey’s liver, kidney and lymphatic system have been sent to the U.S. Department of Agriculture laboratory in Ames, Iowa, to confirm the zoo’s preliminary findings, zoo spokesman Jeff Jouett said.

He said a needle biopsy on the monkey, a 14- or 15-year-old female called Jing Tong, “indicated the possibility of tuberculosis.” However, the exact cause of death will not be determined until two veterinarians representing the China Wildlife Conservation Assn. arrive in about two weeks to help conduct a full autopsy.

As a precaution, all zoo employees who have been in contact with the golden monkeys are being tested for tuberculosis, Jouett said. Of 22 people tested, 17 have tested negative and five were still awaiting results.

“Tuberculosis is transmitted from monkeys to humans and from humans to monkeys through the air. It requires close and prolonged contact . . . visitors to the zoo are not at risk,” Jouett said.

Jing Tong, along with a male and another female golden monkey, was on a two-year breeding loan from China that is due to expire in April. They are the only Chinese golden monkeys currently in the United States. In 1985, the zoo received on loan the first pair of golden monkeys ever exhibited outside of China.