Posted 7/17/2007 05:19:00 PM by Douglas

I had no idea there were Snow Monkeys in Laredo.

The frightened survivors began, understandably, to hang more closely around the roofs, fences, and compounds of both their own home and the neighboring ranches. Someone called authorities to complain. Surely it wasn't acceptable to set loose a bunch of foreign primates on a quiet rural county? Not that they were as bad as fire ants or salt cedar, but still, there had to be rules about these things, right?

Well, there had been. Until 1994, the monkeys had been protected officially as a "threatened species" under the Endangered Species Act, and unofficially by observatory neighbors who felt protective of them, and would call the observatory if one escaped. But as the troop grew, so did the nuisance, and with the observatory short of maintenance funds, nearby ranchers increasingly complained of escaped monkeys stealing food, damaging trees, or just being where they didn't belong.

Well they're safe and sound now, on their very own sanctuary. But really? What's the weirdest part of that story? Japanese monkeys in South Texas? Hunters shooting Japanese monkeys in South Texas, or South Texas monkeys being saved from hunters by Wayne Newton?

The martyred monkeys didn't die entirely in vain. The shooting led entertainer Wayne Newton to San Antonio for a fundraiser. Other people gave cash and their time. From its small beginnings in Texas, the primate refuge movement has grown nationwide.

Throw the dice on that one. . .