ST. LOUIS ( KMOV /Gray News) - Anyone can now visit the young Mexican spider monkeys living at the Saint Louis Zoo , but their journey was far from easy.

Four young spider monkeys are now happily adjusting to life at the zoo after being taken from smugglers at the southern United States border.

The monkeys were part of a large group confiscated from smugglers over a year ago. They were rehabilitated in Brownsville, Texas, before recently finding new homes at zoos across the country.

Three girls and one boy make up the group now living in St. Louis. Their names are Chico, Oxomátli (oh-zoh-MAHT-lee), Xóchitl (SO-cheel), and Chula.

It’s likely the monkeys were stolen from their parents to be sold as exotic pets.

It’s a traumatic process for the young animals where their parents are k

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