NEW YORK (AP) -- If Roman Flikshtein had known Cookie was one of an endangered species, he'd never have plunked down $4,500 for the furry little monkey five years ago.
Cookie -- a Ceropithecus diana -- could be packed off soon to an animal rescue center at the Detroit zoo. Having such a pet violates federal and state law and courts have ruled that state officials can remove the rare monkey from the family's home.
``I'm ready to go to jail, but I won't give my baby up,'' Inna Flikshtein said Wednesday.
Roman Flikshtein, who owns a Queens dental laboratory, bought Cookie at a pet store in 1995. To the animal lover who always wanted a monkey, the exotic-looking African simian seemed perfect.
Pet store owner Dennis Borghese said the monkey came from a Florida breeder.
``It wasn't imported, and it wasn't from the black market,'' Borghese said. ``I felt that it needed nurturing, and I wanted it to have a good home.''
Both men said they were unaware then that the species was endangered.
That didn't come up until two years ago. Flikshtein said a professional animal handler sent a letter to the state Department of Environmental Conservation reporting that a diana monkey, kept as a family pet, had bitten someone.
The Flikshteins said the bite allegation was false but it triggered the chain of official actions.
Flikshtein applied for a permit to keep the monkey but was rejected. A DEC letter said the state did not issue licenses to keep endangered or threatened species as pets.
DEC attorney Gail Hintz said the agency did not want to seize Cookie, preferring the family gave the monkey up voluntarily. But ``it depends on how cooperative the family is,'' Hintz said.
``We'll go anywhere, do anything, to save Cookie,'' Roman Flikshtein said. ``I can't imagine being without her.''
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On the Net:
Detroit Zoological Institute: http://detroitzoo.org
Wisconsin Regional Primate Research Center: http://www.primate.wisc.edu/pin/factsheets/cercopithecus_diana.html
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