Golden monkeys in Shanghai Wildlife Park have recently welcomed three new friends from Beijing, officials said yesterday.

 

 

The newcomers will reduce the possibility of inbreeding, park officials said.

 

The three monkeys, one male and two female, have passed a series of isolation quarantines and physical examinations since arriving in the city by air at the end of last month, and have taken up residence on the park's golden monkey island home.

 

"We expect four-year-old Dongdong, the only male of the three, to be the monkey king one day, and Fangfang and Honghong to be his queens," said Su Feilong, an official with the park.

 

(Shanghai Daily December 29, 2006)