Endangered Monkeys Freeze To Death At Alexandria, Louisiana Zoo After Being Left Outside

Two cotton-top tamarins died last week after a keeper at the Alexandria Zoological Park accidentally left them outside. A third monkey was in critical condition, but thankfully has been able to survive.

The cotton-top tamarians are native to Columbia and are among the smallest New World primates. They weigh less than a pound and need temperatures of 76 to 85 degrees to survive. Last week, temperatures dipped down in the teens in Alexandria over night, and a zoo officials say that the monkeys were "overlooked" and left out in the cold.

From AP -

Public Works Director David Gill said in a news release "this appears to have happened as a result of human error and not a system problem."