It makes you want to move to Colorado...... [View All]

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http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2007May22/0,4670,ZooPlague,00.html

Monkey Dies From Plague at Denver Zoo

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

By ERIC W. BOLIN, Associated Press Writer



DENVER — A capuchin monkey at the Denver Zoo has died of plague and officials are trying to prevent an epidemic by isolating the primates and treating them with antibiotics.

Zoo officials learned late Friday that the 8-year-old animal that died Wednesday tested positive for the flea-borne disease, according to a zoo statement.

More than a dozen squirrels and at least one rabbit have been found dead of plague in the City Park area just east of downtown, which includes a golf course, the zoo and the Denver Museum of Nature of Science.

The monkey, which was acting lethargic, was found dead by a zookeeper. Zoo veterinarian Dr. David Kenny suspects the primate ate the carcass of an infected dead squirrel.

Plague is common in Colorado during this time of year, but it usually occurs in rural parts of the state, where it's sometimes discovered when entire prairie dog colonies die off.