Two Rare Monkeys Latest Addition To South Coast Zoo

The Santa Barbara Zoo has two new White-Faced Saki monkeys. The species is native to South American rainforests, and is under threat from hunting and loss of habitat.
(Santa Barbara Zoo photo)

A South Coast zoo has two furry new residents.  The Santa Barbara Zoo is now home to a pair of White-Faced Saki monkeys.  Penelope is two years old, and comes from a Texas zoo.  Her new mate, Calabaza, is from a Florida zoo.

White-Faced Sakis are small South American monkeys which live in rainforests.  They will come to the ground to look for food, but spend most of their time in trees.

They are considered to be a threatened species, because of destruction of their habitat as well as hunting.  The two monkeys were matched and brought to the zoo as part of an international breeding program intended to help preserve endangered species.

The zoo is currently closed because of the pandemic, but people will be able to see them in their new home when it reopens.

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Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral.