The man accused of killing a monkey during a break in at Boise’s zoo appeared in court Thursday. Michael Watkins of Wieser asked the judge for two more weeks to consider his options before entering a plea.
His public defender says Watkins entered the zoo early one morning in November and let the monkey out of its enclosure, but the monkey then attacked him. The animal later died from injuries caused by blunt trauma.
Meantime his surviving companion, Incus is being watched for signs of stress, says Liz Littman with Friends of Zoo Boise. Patas monkeys are social animals.
“The keepers have been giving him extra attention and enrichment. He’ll get different toys or get fed in different ways that kind of stimulate his mind and have different activities,” She says. “And they have a watch list of stuff to look out for with a lone primate. And so far he hasn’t shown any signs of added stress.”
Last month Zoo Boise received two new patas monkeys from a zoo in New York. The animals will remain in quarantine for about another week Littman says. Then they’ll be introduced to Incus gradually.
Copyright 2013 Boise State Public Radio