PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Officials say six small monkeys have died at the Oregon Zoo in Portland just two days after arriving at the facility.
The Oregonian reports that the cotton-topped tamarin monkeys were part of a group of nine that arrived May 22. Zoo spokesman Hova Najarian says the monkeys were being kept in quarantine because they were new to the zoo. Six were found dead by veterinary staff on Saturday. The remaining three appear healthy.
Najarian says necropsy results were inconclusive and the zoo awaits a pathology report on tissue samples.
Metro spokesman Jim Middaugh said the monkeys came from the East Coast, but he did not know what facility.
Zoo director Kim Smith and veterinarian Mitch Finnegan were fired in early May following an investigation that found sloppy mistakes in the treatment of an orangutan that died in January.
