Female Spider Monkeys Are Being Killed So Poachers Can Sell Their Offspring on TikTok

An unsettling trend is rising in spider monkeys being poached and sold on social media, and officials from the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) are on the case to stop this practice from escalating further. 

In a joint investigation by CBS and Inside Edition, officials were able to shed light on the growing trend that’s putting a strain on local facilities and leading to the ill treatment of these already-endangered animals. 

According to the report, the spider monkeys are being brought across the Mexico-Texas border and smuggled into the country to be sold as domesticated pets. For about two years, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection has confiscated over 100 spider monkeys – that are found in hostile conditions – while being illegally transported across the border. 

“They haven’t been given water, they haven’t been given food. They had no medical attention,” explained Colonel Jim Stinebaugh, director of law enforcement at Texas Parks and Wildlife, to the outlet. “To see them treated like that is just terrible.” 

These illegal sales are allegedly happening in “big box store parking lots” in Texas — where one reporter, Inside Edition anchor Eva Pilgrim, nearly caught an active sale as the exchange — or online, with the spider monkey being shipped to its recipient.

In the clip, the woman selling the spider monkey informed the undercover reporter, special guest correspondent Brooke Baldwin, that she charged $6,500 for the 2-month-old animal. 

After further questioning from Inside Edition producers, the seller explained that the baby spider monkeys were not being “sold” but she was instead “rehoming” them. The seller did not share the location or area from which the spider monkeys were retreived from.  

To meet the demand that’s being pushed because of social media — with owners dressing up and putting diapers on their domesticated spider monkeys — poachers have resorted to capturing and killing female spider monkeys and stealing their offspring. Then, poachers sell them to the people who promote and sell them on sites like Reddit and TikTok. Given that spider monkeys only give birth every two to three years, their population is drastically declining every season because of these poachers and sellers. 

Stinebaugh explained to CBS Mornings, “You’re going to have to kill the mothers to get the babies, and then, the rest of the family is going to be protective of the mother and the baby as well. So you very well may end up killing dozens of monkeys just to get a few of the babies.” 

The USFWS has partnered with Border Patrol to confiscate illegally trafficked animals and, once found, relocate them to facilities equipped to provide the proper care; however, the strain from the influx of animals is becoming unmanageable.  

One location that’s been taking in confiscated spider monkeys is the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, Texas. Given that the spider monkey infants are too young to be released back to the wild without a mother to feed and protect them from natural predators, they’re brought to the Texas zoo for care. Veterinarians feed the rescued monkeys with a small bottle and hold them in a makeshift swaddle to simulate the closeness of a mother. 

However, with over 1,600 other animals in the zoo to care for, the five veterinarians on staff are far understaffed to also continue to take in stray spider monkeys, since the babies require nearly 24-hour care.