The meat was analyzed using a new technique called DNA Barcoding which is a quick analysis tool to tell you what species a virus or bacteria falls into. In this particular study the test found zoonotic retrovirus, simian foamy viruses, and several nonhuman primate herpes viruses.

The illegal trade in exotic meat is big business in the Unites states.  Legally, more than 1.5 billion live animals were brought into the US from 200-2006, 90% of them for pets.  This only gives a slight picture of how many may be smuggled in illegally.

The fear is that most of the world’s worst viruses, at some point, jumped form animals to humans.  The most recent case was SARS (Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome) which jumped from Civets (a type of wild cat) to Chinese butchers in 2003.

W. Ian Lipkin of Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health told Environment News Service,

“Exotic wildlife pets and bushmeat are Trojan horses that threaten humankind at sites where they are collected in the developing world as well as the U.S. Our study underscores the importance of surveillance at ports, but we must also encourage efforts to reduce demand for products that drive the wildlife trade.”

The study was the first of its kind, but in the future much more research is going to be needed.  The danger posed to the nation is too great to worry about potential costs.

Dr. Kristine Smith, lead author of the study said,

“Although the findings to date are from a small pilot study, they remind us of the potential public health risk posed by illegal importation of wildlife products – a risk we hope to better characterize through expanded surveillance at ports of entry around the country.”

Do you think the US should spend more money to keep exotic viruses out of the country?

Herpes and HIV Viruses Enter US Through Smuggled African Bush Meat is a post from: The Inquisitr

‘Banana Sam’ is a 17-year-old squirrel monkey who went missing last Thursday after some ne’er-do-wells cut through a gate and made holes in the fence surrounding the monkey enclosure at San Francisco Zoo. Staff feared the monkey may be gone for good, but on Saturday he was spotted at Stern Grove, a park about a mile from the zoo.

A bystander managed to coax the two-pound, one-foot-tall Banana Sam into his backpack, and then called police. He (the monkey, not the bystander) was said to be “hungry, trembling and thirsty,” but was ultimately deemed healthy after a physical examination with zoo officials. Zoo director Tanya Peterson says staff were massively relieved:

“We are so thankful to the community and to the San Francisco Police Department for this happy ending. I know it’s been extremely stressful for zoo staff during this time but we are grateful Banana Sam is back at the zoo where he belongs.”

Nobody has been arrested in connection with Banana Sam’s abduction, but a police spokesman said authorities were “looking at every possible avenue, including the bystander.”

San Francisco Zoo had offered a $5,000 reward for the monkey’s safe return. The zoo has since enhanced security around its monkey exhibit. While squirrel monkeys are not rare or particularly valuable – indeed, they are readily available in specialist pet markets – they are hella cute.

Stolen Squirrel Monkey Found Safe and Well is a post from: The Inquisitr

While I am sure that more than few of the animals depicted here would have a few choice words to say about being subjected to all manner of embarrassing poses one just can’t resist sharing some great images of our furry friends in Christmas garb.

Even animals can get the Christmas spirit is a post from: The Inquisitr

Up until now, I have deliberately avoided buying clothes, costumes, or props for my Xbox 360 Avatar. My reasoning for this is simple: spending actual Earth money on not-actual clothing for an on-screen avatar is a money trap designed to catch fools.

I’m plainly in a minority, because Microsoft mouthpiece Major Nelson has now announced that pets will be available on the Xbox Live Avatar Marketplace from tomorrow, priced at 240 Microsoft Points each. You can choose from:

- Large Dog
- Pug Dog
- Dog in Bag
- Cat
- Siamese Cat
- Long Haired Cat
- Goldfish
- Guinea Pig
- Bird
- Snake
- Pony
- Monkey

Until I read “Monkey,” I was doing my usual sneering at idiots who buy virtual items for some crappy avatar. But now, my ridiculous desire for a little polygonal monkey means I’m going to look like a huge damn hypocrite. Gah. You can check out other animals at Major Nelson’s Flickr.

Of course, this will also allow us to answer a question that has troubled mankind for millennia: who would survive in a fight between a pug and a monkey? You can make them fight to a bloody death, right, Microsoft? Because that’s going to be a dealbreaker.

[Via Major Nelson]

Buy your Xbox Avatar a pet from tomorrow is a post from: The Inquisitr

One of the advantages, or disadvantages, of becoming famous famous is that everyone what wants to start naming things after you. From airports, to roadways, to children and even zoo animals. However in some cases as the zoo in Dresden, Germany, found out there are some animals that shouldn’t be named after famous people – especially if that person is President Obama.

While I am sure its intentions were good the idea of naming a baby Mandrill monkey after the freshly inaugurated President of the United States it turned out that naming the monkey Obama set off a bit of a firestorm among German blacks.

“It’s a catastrophe,” director of the Initiative for Black Germans (ISD) Tahir Della said. “Black people continue to be confronted by associations with the animal kingdom and primitivity.”

The baby mandrill, which belongs to a species closely related to the baboon, was born on March 23, Manuela Collmar, zookeeper at the zoo’s “Afrika Haus,” said. Each year the zoo names all newborn animals beginning with the same letter.

“This year they all begin with ‘O,’ and one of the zookeepers chose ‘Obama’ – it was meant to be positive and an honour in light of his visit to Dresden in June,” Collmar said, adding that neither she nor her colleagues were aware of the history of using monkeys to caricature and ethnically stereotype black people.

Source: The Local :: Zoo forced to rename primate called ‘Obama’

Following up on the public pressure to change the name the zoo finally relented and its cute baby Mandrill monkey is now known as Okeke – which apparently means ‘he who was born on a marked day’.

Naming a baby monkey Obama not the smartest PR move is a post from: The Inquisitr

So, you think that all those monkeys and chimps you see cavorting around at the local zoo are all cute and stuff huh?

Well think again because if they are anything like Santino, a chimp at Sweden’s Furuvik Zoo they could be planning their attack to take over the world – or at least the zoo. According to the staff at the zoo they have caught Santino chipping at concrete to create discs to throw at visitors. As well he even made weapons at night to throw at visitors when the zoo opens in the morning.

It is this kind of behavior that has been impressing scientists who believe that this is the first evidence that a non-human animal is capable of making plans for the future

“It implies that they have a highly developed consciousness, including life-like mental simulations of potential events,” said Mathias Osvath, a scientist who studied Santino for over a decade. “They most probably have an ‘inner world’ like we have when reviewing past episodes of our lives or thinking of days to come. I would guess that they plan much of their everyday behaviour.”

Source: Planet Save

I don’t know about you but the idea of having to wear Kevlar the next time I go to the zoo isn’t exactly my idea of a fun afternoon out.

Update: After it was pointed out by a reader that the previous picture was actually one of a gorilla rather than a chimp I at first responded with some humor about him being picky. I also pointed out that that was the same picture that Planet Save had used in their post to Kambiz Kamrani reply in the comments

Just because someone else made the mistake, Steve, doesn’t mean it is okay to perpetuate it. If anything, as the title of this blog indicates, one should be inquisitive and critical — not just an echo chamber of misinformation.

To this I would have to agree and as a result have corrected my error with a proper picture of a chimp. Thanks Kambiz for keeping me honest – thanks

Zoo chimp discovered to be planning attacks on visitors is a post from: The Inquisitr

Police in Pennsylvania had been looking for the guy since March. He’s accused of snatching two monkeys from the Wild World of Animals in the town of Eighty Four. He’d be on the run for months since missing a court date this past spring.

Then came the previously untapped primate power of MySpace. A prosecutor looked up the accused monkey man’s page and discovered he’d posted his new phone number and address there. (The page wasn’t even set to be private.) Authorities used that info to easily find him and arrest him.

The moral of the story: If you steal monkeys and run away from the law, make sure your MySpace page is set to “private” before posting your contact information. Otherwise, you’ll end up being the one in the cage playing with his own poo.

MySpace Helps Track Down Suspected Monkey Thief is a post from: The Inquisitr

Tokyo commuters had an interesting visitor Wednesday morning: a monkey.

The Japanese monkey was spotted in Shibuya Station, where as the raw AP footage above shows, it was surrounded by policeman with nets.

The 27 inch long monkey (yes, they came up with a size estimate) didn’t appreciate the attention and decided that he wouldn’t be using the ever efficient Japanese railway system, instead deciding to leave the station at a fast pace. Local reports said the monkey was last seen heading in the direction of Yoyogi Park.

Anyone with information on the whereabouts of the said monkey should contact Japanese Police.

Monkey escapes Japanese authorities is a post from: The Inquisitr