06/18/2026
Stepping into our Rainforest Revealed loop, there are so many special animal residents who catch your eye – but few are as charismatic (or loud) as our black-handed spider monkey troop, which is made up of a number of younger members.
Watching the hooting and (sometimes) hollering: Rochelle, “Shelley,” is the mother of many of the troop members. Known as “hard to describe” and a lifelong grump, Shelley has been a main character at our Zoo since we opened in 1994.
At 35 years old, Shelley is well past the median lifespan for her species – but she’s begun slowing down for another reason. Recently, an exam found some abnormalities in her stomach, and a partner radiologist confirmed a cancer diagnosis for Shelley.
With her quality of life in mind, we have decided to forgo invasive treatment options for Shelley and instead begin offering her palliative care.
“In veterinary medicine, the goal of cancer treatment is palliation,” said Dr. Rachel Turner, our Director of Veterinary Programs. “We very rarely cure cancer, but we do our best to reduce the impacts of the disease, while still maintaining a good quality of life. Usually, we are trying to extend that quality of life for a number of months to a few years, but not decades.”
Shelley’s cancer has progressed to the point that it would necessitate a highly invasive surgery to remove a large amount of her stomach. In a human, this would require a feeding tube or a highly specialized diet, which aren’t options for Shelley. Injectable chemotherapy is challenging to administer to primates as it requires repeated intravenous infusions for an extended period of time. Oral chemotherapies only work on certain types of cancers, and these medications would pose a risk to our care team handling the chemotherapeutics. Additionally, this type of treatment would require Shelley to be isolated as the drugs pass in her waste. To be isolated from the rest of the troop can be detrimental to her wellbeing.
Our goal now is to ensure that Shelley is as comfortable and stress-free as possible, and her animal care team is closely monitoring her and working with our veterinary team to provide palliative care as needed. It’s our responsibility to ensure her quality of life and understand when it may be time to prevent any future suffering – a decision we take with the utmost care and respect. This could come in the coming days, weeks or months.
It’s a privilege to see any of our animal residents in their golden years. Shelley was among the first animal residents to welcome guests into our Zoo when we first opened, and we’ve watched her rise in the ranks of our troop, welcome her own babies and recently take on the role of a more watchful, elder troop member. Now, it's our honor to help her through her final time with us surrounded by her troop and her animal care team.
