Patas monkey euthanized at Woodland Park Zoo

After suffering a broken leg during an attempted transfer from a permanent to temporary habitat, a patas monkey was euthanized at Woodland Park Zoo.

Kyle, 8, came to Woodland Park Zoo in 2009. Just two years later, he was treated for a severe infection in the bones around his right shoulder. Usual antibiotic treatments failed to stop the spread of the infection, and the zoo said that jeopardized his overall health. It was then the keeper staff, animal health team and consulting veterinarians from the Animal Surgical Clinic determined to amputate Kyle’s right limb (arm.)

With only two healthy limbs after the leg break, Gigi Allianic, Public Relations and Communications Managet at Woodland Park Zoo, said “He wouldn’t have been able to live well in his exhibit.”

Allianic said the staff transfers animals on a regular basis. And for many of the animals, moving them is a long and deliberate process.

“We want to minimize stress on the animals and we had been trying to train Kyle to shift to a kennel. We’d been working with him since October for a few months,” Allianic said. That option wasn’t working out.

When shifting Kyle, who was considered middle age, his leg was fractured.

Nicole Meyer, a director with In Defense of Animals, an organization also fighting the treatment of Woodland Park Zoo’s elephants, called the situation “reprehensible.”

“It’s our understanding from (a whistleblower,) that the zoo staff responsible for this incident ignored the advice of keepers,” said Meyer. She said zoo staff decided to move Kyle anyway, resulting in his injury.

“In addition to that, this monkey also reportedly languished in pain for an estimated two hours following the capture.”

Allianic disputed the claim. “Our keepers [and animal management] were with this animal, at no time was he left alone when he was moved. He was under observation to assess his injuries. Once the veterinary staff finished their medical procedure they immediately sedated him and examined him.”

Patas monkeys are primarily ground dwelling, and they’re the fastest primate in the animal kingdom, with the ability to run up to 33 miles per hour.

Allianic said the vets consulted with local physicians before determining that because his life would be severely compromised, the right thing to do would be euthanization.

During the necropsy, the zoo did identify a contusion to Kyle’s brain, but Allianic said that’s not the reason he was put down.