NEED TO KNOW
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The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens is welcoming animal lovers to participant in naming its infant patas monkey
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The zoo requested a $2 donation for each vote, with an unlimited about of votes a participant can enter
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Participants have a choice of four Swahili names that embrace the patas monkey personality and African origins
A California zoo is ready to name its youngest patas monkey and is seeking community input to find the perfect name.
The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens, located in Palm Desert, Calif., shared with PEOPLE that it welcomed the addition on May 3, 2025. She represents the third generation of females at the zoo. Participants in naming the infant will vote from four potential names and also be entered into a raffle to win a patas monkey experience.
The Living Desert
Patas monkey at The Living Desert Zoo
The experience includes admission into the zoo, a meet-and-greet with the monkeys’ care team and two special-edition monkey plushes. To enter, participants must donate $2 per vote; multiple votes can be cast, explains the website.
To get a better sense of what name fits the patas monkey the best, the zoo offered insight into her personality, describing her as small but “mighty.”
“Her Animal Care team notes that she’s endlessly curious and quick to explore,” the zoo states. “At this young age, she’s learning daily from her mom and grandmother. You can often spot her dashing across the habitat or leaping up the rocks in playful pursuit of her elders.”
The Living Desert
Patas monkey at The Living Desert Zoo
Each name up for voting has a Swahili origin to represent the monkey’s geographic roots, stemming from Africa. The name options include Kukua (meaning “to grow” or a place for the potential of growth to happen in surprising ways), Upepo (meaning “wind” to represent her swift movements and “a nod to the fact that patas monkeys are the fastest primate in the world”), Asili (meaning “nature”) and lastly Maisha (meaning “life” aimed to symbolized the vitality and wonder of existence).
Potential participants have until Nov. 11 to cast their votes at livingdesert.org/name-the-baby-patas-monkey.
The infant patas isn’t the only primate at the zoo who received the red carpet treatment. On Saturday, Nov. 1, the zoo welcomes a troop of patas monkeys to its newly renovated habitat in the Village WaTuTu section of the facilities.
“The family includes three generations of females: a grandmother (age 12), mother (age 6), and grandbaby (age 6 months), as well as the baby’s sire (dad, age 5),” a zoo representative shared with PEOPLE.
According to the zoo, patas monkeys are charismatic and can travel up to 34 miles per hour across their natural habitat, the arid grasslands of Africa.
Read the original article on People
