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[Carrie McLaren <carrie AT stayfreemagazine.org>]

Monkey walks on two legs

July 22, 2004
http://www.news.com.au/common/printpage/0,6093,10210241,00.html

A YOUNG monkey at an Israeli zoo has started walking like a human 
following a near death experience, the zoo's veterinarian said today.

Natasha, a small five-year-old black macaque monkey at the Safari 
Park next to Tel Aviv, began walking exclusively upright on two legs 
after a stomach ailment nearly killed her, zookeepers said.

Monkeys usually alternate between upright movement and walking on all 
fours. A picture in the Maariv daily on Wednesday showed Natasha 
standing ramrod straight like a human. The picture was labelled 
humorously: The Missing Link?

Two weeks ago, Natasha and three other monkeys were diagnosed with 
severe stomach flu. At the zoo clinic, she slipped into critical 
condition, veterinarian Igal Horowitz said.

"I was sure that she was going to die," he said. "She could hardly 
breathe, and her heart was not functioning properly."

After intensive treatment, Natasha's condition stabilised, but she 
exhibited strange behaviour, and a day after was released from the 
clinic, she began walking erect like a human being.

"I've never seen or heard of this before," said Mr Horowitz. One 
possible explanation is brain damage from the illness, he said.

Besides her evolutionarily advanced method of movement, Mr Horowitz 
said, Natasha's behaviour had returned to normal.
The Associated Press

This report appears on NEWS.com.au.