Monkey's and malaria: Baby owl used to find malaria vaccine showcased in Tampa

Dade City, Fla. - When you own a ranch with multiple species of animals, sometimes nature takes its course, and those animals multiply.

The Giraffe Ranch in Tampa Bay has a maternity ward for those baby animals.

Lex Salisbury, the owner and operator of The Giraffe Ranch, describes some of the animals showcased there.

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"Here at Giraffe Ranch, we have a baby owl monkey; they're the only nocturnal monkey in the world," said Salisbury.

The owl monkey is a species of monkey from Central and South America. Its features are similar to those of lemurs, except for shorter ears, much larger eyes, and long fingers.

"They've got big catcher's mitt-like hands, so they use these giant fingers to grab moths and eat these moths," said Salisbury.

Owl monkeys also share some unique characteristics with humans that have helped develop much-needed medicines to save lives.

"They get malaria like people do," said Salisbury. "So they were used as a study animal to come up with a vaccine."

Salisbury says, "They've now come up with a malaria vaccine that is being used in Africa."

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The Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute conducted that study and the resulting vaccinee. The vaccine is currently being used in Zambia and other sub-Saharan areas impacted by malaria.

Visit the Giraffe Ranch at 38650 Mickler Rd in Dade City to see the baby owl monkey and other primates in person.

To learn more about Giraffe Ranch in Dade City, visit their website here.

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