(KRON) — A baby monkey was likely abducted from her mother by poachers before she became someone’s illegal exotic pet in California, Oakland Zoo officials told KRON4.
The adorable five-month-old monkey was rescued from a suspected DUI driver earlier this week during a bizarre traffic stop. She is now receiving critical veterinary care in Oakland.
Collen Kinzley, vice president of animal care at Oakland Zoo, said people involved in the exotic pet trade will shoot a wild baby monkey’s mother before selling the baby to buyers through social media marketplaces.
“The mothers are shot way high up in the trees. The poachers take the little babies … a lot of them die,” Kinzley said. Primates are illegal to own as pets in California.
On New Year’s Eve, the malnourished female spider monkey was found clinging to a suspected DUI driver in the Central Valley, California Highway Patrol officers said.
CHP officers had stopped the driver’s Rolls Royce Ghost for speeding on Highway 99 in Madera County. The driver was identified as 27-year-old Ali Mused Adel Mohamed. Officers arrested Mohamed on suspicion of DUI and illegal possession of an exotic animal, the CHP said.