Munchkin is a male spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi) born in 1996 and came to Noah’s Ark in 2000. He was surrendered to Noah’s Ark because his owners could no longer handle an increasingly aggressive and destructive spider monkey living in their home. His family loved him very much and realized the hard way how unfair, unhealthy and potentially dangerous it is to keep a primate confined to a house. Munchkin was becoming increasingly violent and unpredictable because he was forced to live the life of a domesticated pet. Just days after Munchkin came to live at Noah’s Ark, his former owner’s house caught fire and Munchkin surely would have perished in the flames. Now that he lives in the proper social environment, is kept up to date with his dental work, and is allowed to be the wild animal that he is, Munchkin has calmed down tremendously, and is a happy, well adjusted member of his monkey family, and greets his keepers with happy “squeaks”. He lives with another spider monkey named Clarke Gable and a siamang/gibbon hybrid named Shawn Shawn.
