New spider monkeys now at St. Louis Zoo were targets of wildlife trafficking

Four spider monkeys now available for the public to see will not only be a fun new attraction at the St. Louis Zoo, but also serve as a good reminder of the horrors of wildlife trafficking, officials said Monday.

“It's a huge issue because not only are we removing these monkeys from the wild, but we're also killing their parents — and so whole generations are being lost,” said Shannon Farrell, a primate keeper at the zoo since 2012.

The Mexican spider monkeys — named Chico, Oxomátli, Xóchitl and Chula — all arrived at the St. Louis Zoo in April after being seized as infants from smugglers by federal authorities along the U.S-Mexico border last year.

While the 13- to 17-pound monkeys considered to be endangered by conservation groups are doing well in St. Louis, they do carry traumatic p