Boise Zoo Gets Two Monkeys After One is Killed

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Officials with Idaho's Zoo Boise say a zoo in Syracuse, New York is donating two female Patas monkeys to take the place of an animal killed during a November break-in.

The Idaho Statesman reports the Rosamund Gifford Zoo is donating the animals to be companions to a male Patas monkey who survived the Nov. 17 break-in. The monkey's previous companion died of blunt force head injuries sustained in an apparent beating by an intruder.

Prosecutors say 22-year-old Michael Jacob Watkins broke into the zoo to steal the monkey, and that he beat it to death with a tree branch after the monkey bit him. The Weiser resident is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Dec. 5.