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[Josh Greenman <joshg1973 AT yahoo.com>]

http://www.hammondstar.com/articles/2004/07/15/top_stories/news03.txt

Resident spots baby monkey hanging around Hammond

By SYLVIA SCHON, Daily Star Staff Writer

The monkey Jeanine Serpas found in her Hammond back yard last week is 
still at large but staying close enough to win her heart.

Serpas caught her first glimpse of the little vagabond on Thursday.

"I walked out my back door, and there was a monkey hanging from my 
clothesline," she said.

The visitor was about a 1 1/2 feet tall, with light-colored skin on its 
face, brown-black fur, a white-tipped tail and a red head.

The monkey simply looked at her and made no move to flee.

 "He didn't seem scared. It was a baby monkey," Serpas said. "I was 
very surprised because I live out in the country, and where would a 
monkey come from? I wanted to keep him, but they (her boyfriend and 
grandmother) wouldn't let me."

She fed the monkey baby bananas and oranges on Thursday and started 
calling for help.

"This was a first for me," said Parish Councilman Carlos Notariano, who 
got a call while at a movie with his son.

The state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and parish Animal 
Control got calls too, but Serpas was directed to the Tulane National 
Primate Research Center in Covington.

Dr. Skip Bohm, associate director and chair of the veterinary medicine 
division, responded.

The center wasn't missing any monkeys, and Serpas' description of her 
visitor didn't match the center's population, he said. But he and some 
staff members still tried to help out.

"We get calls like this all the time. There's a monkey here and a 
monkey there," Bohm said.

Most of the time the monkeys are not caught or no evidence can be found 
of their visit.

Nevertheless, Bohm left a live trap there which the baby monkey has so 
far avoided.

"I guess he's real smart," Serpas said.

The baby primate is still hanging around her back yard, swinging 
through the trees, Serpas said, adding that she isn't sure if it is a 
male or female.

But she is making sure the monkey has access to water and leaves 
bananas and other foods out every day.

Last updated: Jul 14, 2004 - 16:41:49 EDT