Bongo, a 21-year-old brown capuchin monkey, made a home at Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary after years of living in a small laboratory cage.
Kari Bagnall, the sanctuary’s founder, said Bongo was subjected to toxic studies at an anonymous university. Professionals said the paraplegic monkey would never walk again, and they recommended he be euthanized.
KC, a fellow female brown capuchin, befriended Bongo after he arrived at the sanctuary.
Three months later, he was walking.
An anonymous donor recently offered to match any funds raised by the sanctuary in three months, up to a maximum of $25,000. Fundraising started Monday as the Year of the Monkey began.
Bongo lives among hundreds of “miracle monkeys” that were previously abandoned by pet owners or subjected to lab testing.
Bagnall said she dated a man in Las Vegas who wanted to give away his pet monkey, Samantha. She kept the monkey and left the man, following her love for monkeys ever since.
Samantha, now 23 years old, lives at the sanctuary, as does Bagnall and about seven other people.
The sanctuary operates under a no-kill concept and uses private donations and grants to care for the monkeys, Bagnall said. Basic care is about $2,000 a year for each monkey.
“In my heart of hearts, I can’t look at that monkey and say, ‘You’re going to cost too much, I’m going to kill you because you cost too much,’” Bagnall said.
Apprentice Veronika Blanco, 33, works with 25 monkeys every day.
“They are individuals,” she said. “So, sometimes they are in a good mood; sometimes they are not. Every day is completely different, so it is a good reason to wake up in the morning.”
Jersey, an 11-year-old Brown Capuchins monkey, enjoys a snack Tuesday afternoon at the Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary. Jersey is one of the 25 monkies at the sanctuary.
