Diana monkeys, a rare species of guenon, live in the high canopy of forests located in Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. They are seldom seen on the ground.

They are on Appendix A of the Cites Endangered Species list, which means that they should not be traded.

They got their name because of the crescent-shaped white brow band, which is seen to resemble the brow of the Goddess Diana. They are one of the most beautiful species of primates

They live in family groups, usually in groups of 15-30 animals. The females live with their mothers for life. For pictures see:

http://members.tripod.com/uakari/cercopithecus_diana.html

One is inclined to ask why a dealer would sell such a rare monkey to a New York family with a young child, also how this particular shop acquired such a rare animal. One should also ask if any monkeys make suitable house pets. Do they deserve to have ovariohysterectomies? Should they be dressed in mini-skirts or tutus? Should their canine teeth be removed to prevent them from biting their "owners"? Should they be potty-trained? Should they be caged in private homes? Should they be permitted to eat junk food? Should they be isolated from other members of their species? Are they better off in a group or pair situation in a zoo than in a private residence?

For more information on the hazards of monkey ownership see http://petmonkey.info/testimonials.htm

In the case below, Kathi Travers, who stayed with the Flikshtein family for a week, takes the position that this Diana monkey should be allowed to remain in private ownership. Dr. Shirley McGreal, of the International Primate Protection League (who was not invited to stay for a week), and many other primate experts, opposed this position. New York State won their case against the Flikshteins and they planned to send Cookie to the Detroit Zoo, where there was a young lone male Diana Monkey. Nobody seems to know where Cookie is now. I have tried to find out. The story just disappeared from the press. One presumes that Cookie just stayed where she was.

Sadly, there were probably no forest canopies in Cookie’s future.

N.Y. threatens to seize family's beloved monkey

FRED KAPLAN

N.Y. threatens to seize family's beloved monkey

Immigrants bought endangered primate, raised her together with daughter

By FRED KAPLAN

Boston Globe

Saturday, July 22, 2000

New York -- In the 20 years since Roman and Inna Flikshtein emigrated from the Soviet Union, they never thought anything like what they're going through now could happen in America.

The nightmare began July 3, when the New York attorney general put them on notice that, any day now, marshals could pound on their door and take a loved one away.

Their anxieties are not the slightest bit allayed by the fact that the loved one in danger is a monkey named Cookie.

"We are very depressed about this," said Roman Flikshtein, a dental technician.

"Cookie is a child," his wife said, on the verge of tears. "She is a very important member of this family. She won't be able to live without us. I don't know how I'll be able to live without her."

The Flikshteins' daughter, Michelle, 13, also was glum: "I know that she's a monkey, but we have a sisterly love. We play together a lot, we hug and kiss. We were raised together."

Cookie wore diapers as a baby, until the family taught her to use a little potty chair. She has learned to "groom" members of her human family much as she would groom another monkey in the wild. She often eats with the family and particularly loves rocky road ice cream for dessert.

Cookie stands a little more than 2 feet tall and weighs 9 pounds. She has big eyes, a pharaoh beard and a red, white and black coat. Out of her cage, she heads toward her leash, leaps onto somebody's shoulder, and emits high-pitched gurgles.

Her strange drama has triggered a range of questions about the proper relations between higher and lower primates.

As New York state sees it, the case is cut and dried. Cookie is a diana monkey, officially an endangered species. The law forbids people to keep these species. Either the Flikshteins give Cookie up - - which they refuse to do -- or the authorities will seize her.

To the Flikshteins, the case is more complex. They thought they were legally purchasing the monkey when they bought her at a Long Island pet store in February 1995, when she was 3 months old. Not knowing Cookie was endangered, they have lovingly raised her in the 5 1/2 years since.

Moreover, on the shop owner's ill-informed advice, they early on had Cookie neutered. If she is put in a zoo with a male monkey, she cannot breed, cannot help perpetuate her species.

"So what is the purpose of taking her away?," Roman Flikshtein asked.

Kathi Travers, a top specialist on monkeys who works for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, has visited Cookie for a week in the Flikshtein home, and she came away amazed.

"Generally, I'm against anybody keeping a monkey as a pet," Travers said Thursday. In the case of Cookie, she makes an exception.

"I have never seen a monkey who's been potty-trained, but this monkey was," she said. "I wouldn't have believed it possible unless I saw it."

Cookie also "had this ritual at night, cleaning herself with water and lemon, and I'd never seen that, either."

If Cookie leaves that house, Travers concluded, "I think she will suffer depression, she will get very debilitated. I would like nothing more than seeing this monkey nicely fitting in with other monkeys, but it's too big a gamble. I believe in putting animals in places equal to or better than where they are. Where is she going to be better? She's living a good life."

Thursday morning, Roman Flikshtein crouched near Cookie, who was in her cage, caressing his finger while playing with a stuffed toy. "We're in trouble, Cookie," he said softly. "Sorry."

Jim Doherty, the curator of the Bronx Zoo, greatly respects Travers -- and Travers equally respects him -- but he disagrees with her here.

"This monkey should live with other monkeys," Doherty said.

The plan calls for Cookie to be placed in the Detroit Zoo alongside a male diana, of which only a few dozen exist in North America.

Even if Cookie cannot breed -- and Doherty notes that some veterinary fixes don't take -- she could be "a good auntie to other females brought in," he said.

Doherty doesn't buy the Flikshteins' picture of domesticity. "Why do they keep it in a cage?" he asked. "They don't keep their daughter in a cage."

Jean Martin
Lantzville BC