What:
Animal patients at Woodland Park Zoo receive excellent medical care. A geriatric patas (PA-tus) monkey is scheduled to receive a post-operative eye exam by zoo veterinarians, assisted by veterinary ophthalmologist Dr. Thomas Sullivan of Seattle’s Animal Eye Clinic. Dr. Sullivan is one of more than 70 medical doctors, consulting veterinarians, and health care professionals who volunteer their skills to provide quality health care to the zoo’s 1,000-plus animals.

The 22-year-old African monkey was surgically treated for an acute pain in her left eye four weeks ago. On examination, veterinarians found a lens cataract that had ruptured through the lens capsule. This rupture caused an increase in pressure within the eye causing discomfort to the monkey. The monkey was immobilized and Dr. Sullivan performed a 20-minute microscopic surgical procedure to remove the lens, alleviate the discomfort and give her a comfortable eye. This procedure marked the first ever for Woodland Park Zoo. It is commonly practiced in both human and veterinary medicine for older patients with cataracts in an attempt to regain vision lost by cataract formation that typically comes with advancing age.

The monkey will have normal far-sighted vision in the left eye, but will likely be challenged to see objects close up. Vision in the unaffected eye remains normal. The monkey was reintroduced this week to the group of patas monkeys at the zoo’s award-winning African Savanna.

When:
Friday, April 28, 8:00 a.m. The exam should take approximately 15 mins.

Where:
Woodland Park Zoo’s Animal Health Complex. Enter through the zoo’s South Entrance parking lot at N. 50th St. & Fremont Ave. N. Continue driving straight onto the service road that winds behind the Rose Garden. The Complex is the first building on the left.

Info:
Patas monkeys, native to Africa, are primarily ground-dwelling primates and are often found in open bush and grass savanna regions. Their long, slender arms and legs enable them to run up to 35 miles per hour. When required, a patas can go from 0 to 33 miles per hour in three seconds! Patas monkeys are frequently hunted for its meat and because they are sometimes considered pests since they raid crops. Heavy cattle grazing and the conversion of savanna areas into farmland have reduced available habitat.

Beginning May 1, zoo summer hours will be 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. daily. For more information, call 206.684.4800 or visit www.zoo.org.

Accredited by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, award-winning Woodland Park Zoo is famed for pioneering naturalistic exhibits and setting a standard for zoos all over the world. With conservation, education and excellent animal care at the core of the zoo’s mission, the zoo is helping to save endangered species in Washington state and around the world including tree kangaroos, snow leopards, red-crowned cranes, African wild dogs, western pond turtles and Oregon silverspot butterflies. By inspiring visitors and others to care and act, Woodland Park Zoo is making a difference in our planet’s future.