A happy ending

The story of April, the fragile nine-month old monkey who was abducted from the Cherry Brook Zoo in Saint John, made me so sad I couldn't even blog about it. The poor little thing's fate has been in the back of my mind for days. Was she scared? Hurt? The agony of her parents, who continually searched their compound looking for her, was heartbreaking. To make things worse, she is a Callimico goeldii monkey - an endangered species. The whole city of Saint John seemed just gutted by it.

Then, someone did the right thing.

April got lucky - if she had been destined for the black market, she'd be sold or dead by now. My personal guess is that some guy either became enamoured of her at the Zoo or, just as likely, his girlfriend did - and he decided he had to have that monkey. Sort of a "it seemed like a good idea at the time" scenario. Didn't realize how fragile the species is; didn't think about the fact that he was breaking up a highly intelligent family.

Personally, I don't think police should even continue to pursue the case now that April has been returned. (They said, before the monkey was found, that they "just wanted the monkey back" - now that she's been returned, they are analyzing the tape of the anonymous tip that led to her for clues. That's not a good lesson for the next time they say they "just want something returned".)

Media reports that April is in good health and that the whole family is "bouncing off the walls" with happiness at being reunited.

It's that rarest of things these days - a happy ending. :)

ronnie