Lost Monkey Finds New Home at Zoo : Wildlife: Marmoset found at Hawthorne McDonald’s will eventually join other primates on exhibit at Santa Ana facility.

An exotic monkey that was found playing in a jungle-gym set at a McDonald’s restaurant earlier this week was turned over Friday to the Santa Ana Zoo, where it eventually will join other primates on exhibit.

The monkey, a female pygmy marmoset weighing half a pound and about eight inches long, will be quarantined for 30 days to make sure it is healthy before being put in a new exhibit, said Ron Glazier, director of the Santa Ana Zoo.

When the monkey was delivered through the service gate, “it reminded me of a Hollywood scene here, with reporters positioning for a good look,” Glazier said. The animal “wasn’t scared at all, which further leads us to believe she’s been a pet,” he said.

Employees at a McDonald’s restaurant in Hawthorne discovered the marmoset Monday afternoon and called the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which has a shelter in that city.

“Of course, we didn’t believe it and thought it would be something else and not a monkey,” said Tori Matthews, assistant shelter supervisor. “This is the first time in my 10 years here that we’ve picked up a monkey. You don’t see an animal like this loose.”

Pygmy marmosets are generally found in the tropical forests and woodland plains of Central and South America, according to authorities. They usually are less than a foot long, not including the tail, and weigh from 10 to 12 ounces. Unlike other monkeys, they have claws instead of nails. They live in trees and walk on all fours, like squirrels. Marmosets eat mainly insects and fruits.

Authorities theorized that the marmoset found in Hawthorne had gotten away from its owner somehow. Matthews said no one has called to claim it, “probably knowing it’s illegal to own an exotic animal without a permit.”

The marmoset, whose fur has different shades of brown, will not be ready for public viewing for up to 60 days, depending on the weather and how it has acclimated, zoo officials said.

“It’s probably been kept indoors, and we want to do that too until the weather gets warmer,” Glazier said.

The marmoset’s future home will be next to cages of three species of tamarind monkeys, which resemble marmosets, Glazier said. It will be one of 59 monkeys from 17 species of primates at the zoo.

“We’ll try to look for a mate to keep her company,” Glazier said.

The marmoset had a lot of company at the animal shelter in Hawthorne after it was carried out of McDonald’s, SPCA officials said.

“She liked to hop from person to person preening people’s hair,” Matthews said. “She jumped on a cameraman that was in here. . . . We’ve had about 20 reporters in and out since Monday, and she was enjoying every bit of it.”

“I’m going to miss her,” Matthews added. “If it weren’t so cruel to keep an animal like this, I would love to keep her. She needs a lot of room, trees, other monkeys to play with.”