Rita is a black-capped capuchin who arrived at Jungle Friends on October 6, 2001. She was originally thought to be a male, but "Little Herbie" turned out to be "Little Rita". She was smuggled across the Mexican border into California, where pet monkeys are illegal.
Rita was kept in a cage in a garage until the day she escaped. She was on the run for about 5 days. Finally Janet Alexander, from the Santa Clara Humane Society, caught up with her. The SCHS took very good care of Rita before she was released to Jungle Friends. Janet purchased toys and special foods to make her stay comfortable. SCHS also paid for all of her medical bills, tests, vaccinations and transportation to JF. As a matter of fact, Janet even flew here with Rita to settle her in. The veterinarian at SCHS who first saw Rita originally thought her to be very old, as the x-rays showed osteoporosis, however, it appears that her diet and housing caused early deterioration in her bones and as it turns out she is was only 18 months old. Dr. Collins looked at Rita’s ex-rays and even though there are some small fractures due to the bone disease, there is no sign of curvature and he believes that with a good diet and plenty of exercise she will be just fine. Rita arrived very thin from malnourishment, but she is now gaining weight. Rita sleeps with Connie every night and plays with the others by day. Connie has taken Rita under her wing and spends much of her time in endless grooming sessions. I have never seen a monkey that demanded as much grooming as Rita, fortunately for Rita, Connie is very happy to accommodate her. Connie just dotes on Rita.
Read about our S-A-M Program for details on sponsoring Rita or any of our Jungle Friends primates. Or just choose your sponsorship level from these links.

Flower Dance Framed print only ($30) Photo Art ($40) Example of Photo Art:

Have artwork by Rita created for you! 5x7 ORIGINAL ARTWORK 5x7 unframed ($60) 5x7 custom framed ($120) 8x10 ORIGINAL ARTWORK 8x10 unframed ($75) 8x10 custom framed($150)