Expert: Ed Saugstad - 5/24/2005

Question
My Name Is Jess and I am doing a project for school on Monkeys. We need to have an expert and so I decided to use you as my expert. Here are my expert questions. I would appreciate if you can answer them.
              Questions

1) How did you become a zookeeper?
2) What is the most rewarding part of your job and why?
3) What type of education do you need to learn how to care for animals (i.e monkeys)?
4) Do you think monkeys are going to be extinct and why?
5) When was the first monkey discovered, where and what species was it?
6) Why do people do so many tests on monkeys?
7) What species are the most common and rarest monkeys?
8) Are there any monkeys that live in the United States besides the zoo?



Thanks for all of your help. I appreciate you taking your time to answer my questions.

Jess
5th grader


Answer
Dear Jess - Although I am NOT a zookeeper (many people confuse zookeepers with zoologists; zookeeping is but one of many thousands of different jobs/specialties that fall under zoology), I will try to answer your questions:
1) How did you become a zookeeper? I am not a zookeeper, so cannot answer this one.

2) What is the most rewarding part of your job and why? Being outdoors and enjoying nature. I really dislike being tied down to a desk job.

3) What type of education do you need to learn how to care for animals (i.e monkeys)? In my opinion, hands-on experience (such as serving an apprenticeship at a zoo or with a veterinarian) and compassion towards animals in general is more important that formal education. That aside, most institutions require at least a B.S. in biology with emphasis on zoology for entry-level positions.

4) Do you think monkeys are going to be extinct and why? If history teaches us anything, ALL species, even we humans,  eventually will become extinct - it's only a question of when. With some critically endangered species, it could come at any time. With others, it may be millions of years from now.

5) When was the first monkey discovered, where and what species was it? This depends on what you mean by 'discovered.' Obviously, monkeys (or any other animal for that matter) could be said to have been 'discovered' by the first human ever to see them. This happened in far distant past, long before humans had any capability of making any permanent records. If you mean formally described, about the earliest I know of is the Hamlyni guenon, described by Carl von Linne (Carolus Linneaus) in 1758.

6) Why do people do so many tests on monkeys? Because of all the animals, they are our closest relations, and the results obtained are thought to be more applicable to humans than those obtained from other animals.

7) What species are the most common and rarest monkeys? There are several candidates for commonest; I'm not sure which one is THE commonest - these include the squirrel monkey of South America, and the Rhesus and langurs of India. A good candidate for rarest would be the red colubus in Africa; see http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/02/06/monkey.evidence.ap/
8) Are there any monkeys that live in the United States besides the zoo? As there are no native species in the United States, they usually are found only in zoos or in private collections. However, there are reports that some escapees from captivity have succeeded in establishing free-ranging colonies in Texas.
Hope this helps,
Saugy