HONG KONG — Part of Hong Kong’s oldest zoo remains closed Tuesday after nine monkeys, including an endangered species, mysteriously died, officials said. Zoo authorities are investigating the cause of the deaths of the monkeys, which included a debra monkey, a squirrel monkey, three cotton-top tamarins and four white-tailed sakis, according to Chinese regional leaders.
“An autopsy and clinical tests were immediately arranged to help determine the cause of death,” Hong Kong’s Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) said in a statement on Monday.
The cotton-top tamarin is a small arboreal monkey that lives in the tropical forests of South America and is considered one of the world’s most endangered primates.
The file photo shows a cotton-top tamarin. Philippe Clement/Altera/Universal Images Group/Getty
There are fewer than 6,000 individuals left in the wild, according to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.
Eight of the monkeys, including the tamarin, were found dead at the zoo on Sunday, and the fourth, Saki, was exhibiting unusual behavior, said Hong Kong leader John Lee, speaking at a weekly media briefing on Tuesday. He died on Monday.
“If there is any news, if there is any new development, it should be announced as soon as possible so that everyone knows the facts,” Lee said, according to the Associated Press.
LCSD said in a subsequent statement that another Debraza monkey appeared to be exhibiting unusual behavior and would be kept under observation, but all of the zoo’s other 80 animals appeared to be in normal condition.
In this April 2, 2016 file photo, Mak Chee-wah of the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens feeds a buff-footed gibbon at the zoo. Edward Wong/South China Morning Post/Getty
On Monday, metal fencing and plastic tape were installed to seal off the zoo’s mammal section, and a closure notice was posted on the gate, television news footage showed.
“Pending test results, the (zoo’s) mammal department will be closed starting today for disinfection and cleaning operations,” the LCSD announced Monday.
The monkey that died was one of 93 mammals kept at the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens. The zoo and botanical garden is a 14-acre oasis in the heart of Hong Kong’s famous mid-tier city, and also houses reptiles and birds.
The gardens opened to the public in 1871 in the former official residence of the British colonial governor, and a zoological collection soon began.
