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LOGAN, Utah (AP) -- There's a lot of monkey business going on at the Willow Park Zoo. Literally.
A troop of capuchin monkeys arrived at the zoo in November, and they have been keeping the staff engaged.
The primates -- currently housed indoors due to the cold weather -- even found a way to reach outside of their enclosure and tear off a couple of wire guards from a heat lamp above.
"They can be very grabby," said Karl Kallmeyer, one of the zookeepers. "They're very inquisitive, and they give new sense to the word 'monkeying' with things."
The four brown capuchins were donated from the Alameda Park Zoo in Alamogordo, N.M. They were shipped by plane in November. However, they were only on exhibit for one day in November due to the cold temperatures.
"If it was 60 degrees tomorrow and the snow melted, we'd probably let them out," said Rod Wilhelm, zoo superintendent.
The public will be able to see the monkeys at least by the spring, Wilhelm said.
For now, the primates spend the day in a couple of chain-link enclosures, separated by a sliding door.
Kallmeyer tries to keep them active through enrichment activities. For instance, he brought several paper bags filled with hay and primate sticks into one of their enclosures Thursday. After pulling back the sliding door, the monkeys quickly tore open the bags, munching on the food inside.
"They're basically foraging, which is what they do a lot in the wild," Kallmeyer said. "Enrichment is a way to keep them active, keep their minds stimulated."
The monkeys range in age from 3 to 9 years old. They mostly eat a variety of vegetables and fruits.
In one sense, the animals are replacing the lemurs, the last of which was returned to the Hogle Zoo in October.
Wilhelm said the Salt Lake City zoo was "very instrumental" in giving the Alameda Park Zoo a good reference in the process of acquiring the monkeys.
"Even though the people in Alamogordo did not see our facilities, they're going by word of mouth from some of the people we work with," Wilhelm said.
Kallmeyer's vision is that the monkeys will attract a lot of new visitors to the zoo and also foster a greater appreciation for the facility in the community.
"As small as the zoo is, it's still very nice," he said, adding that he hopes residents will "see that there's not just birds. There's other things to enjoy and learn about."
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
