Granby Zoo to take in monkeys left homeless by Calgary flood

A Quebec zoo is getting ready to welcome evacuees displaced by the floods in Calgary last month.

Granby Zoo is taking in four spider monkeys left homeless after their habitat was destroyed by flood waters.

Jamie Dorgan, general curator for the Calgary Zoo, said over 300 buildings were damaged in the June floods. Workers are now finishinggutting the areas that will need to be rebuilt.

"It's quite a job, there's no doubt," he said.

The animals who were displaced were put in holding facilities and kept as comfortable as possible, but it's a short-term solution to what could be a long-term problem.

Dorgan said the rebuilding process will begin in a few weeks and could take quite some time to complete, and so 34 animals in total will be shipped off to other zoos across the country on temporary loan.

About one-third of the Calgary Zoo reopened to the public today, a month after it was forced to shut down and relocate animals when severe flooding ravaged the city.

• Calgary Zoo partially reopens as flood damage repair continues

The flood caused $60-million in damages and lost revenue for the facility and forced the zooto lay off 300 workers.

The heavily damaged South American exhibit, where the monkeys were housed,had to be permanently shuttered,while the Destination Africa attraction is undergoing extensive repairs.

The building, located on the zoos 32-acre island, is one of the oldest at the zoo and one of the hardest hit when the Bow River overflowed last month.

The four monkeys headed to Quebec will be quarantined for at least a month, according to Granby Zoo head veterinarian Marie-Jose Limoges.

Granby Zoo doesn't currently have any spider monkeys, so she said their temporary move will make for a welcome additioneven if the monkeys are known to be mischevious.

"I refer to them as a bunch of teenagers looking for trouble," she joked on Homerun Wednesday afternoon.

Limoges said the spider monkeys will go on display in September at the earliest.