BamBam is a three-year-old weeper capuchin who arrived last Friday, May 2nd. BamBam had been purchased as a ‘substitute child’, and had a rough go of it. Biting and scratching is natural behavior for a monkey, but is not acceptable in a human family and led to BamBam being quarantined for 30 days in 2006. When she was released, she was bounced from home to home as a result of the ‘owner’s’ personal problems, until she was finally confiscated after another biting incident. BamBam was held at Animal Control in Minnesota for five months. She was facing euthanasia! Fortunately for BamBam, she found a home at Jungle Friends.

When BamBam first arrived she was nervous and scared, but within a matter of hours she was climbing in the trees, swinging on the ropes and talking to Charlotte in the habitat next door. We situated BamBam near Louie, another young weeper capuchin, and are planning to socialize the pair.

BamBam and Louie have acknowledged each other and have even chatted a bit. Because both BamBam and Louie were species isolated, it may take some time for them to bond. Meanwhile BamBam has already won the hearts of our carestaff and interns -- no one passes by BamBam’s habitat without a kind word or a special treat for her.