The Region : Zoo to Borrow Monkeys

The Los Angeles Zoo will finally get some rare golden monkeys on loan from China. Lora LaMarca, curator of education and information for the zoo, said Greater Los Angeles Zoo Assn. President Marcia Hobbs telephoned from China to say a contract for the loan has been signed, and the primates should arrive in June for a six-month visit. “That was all she had time to tell us,” LaMarca said. “We still don’t know how many monkeys they are sending, or any other details.” It was Hobbs’ second journey to China in quest of golden monkeys. The first, undertaken a year ago, ended in a stalemate when Chinese authorities wanted a $150,000 donation to the China Wildlife Conservation Assn., plus a $24,000 premium for Chinese insurance and another $25,000 for travel-related expenses.