Simian, Some You Lose

By Melissa August, Val Castronovo, Rachel Dry, Daren Fonda, Michael Jackson, Benjamin Nugent, Michele Orecklin, Julie Rawe, John Rosenblatt, Alexandra Wolfe

MONKEY BUSINESS It all sounds eerily familiar. The government wants to take a beloved child from one family because the tyke has another, more closely related family somewhere else. But many consider that place to be little better than a prison. This time it's Brooklyn, not Miami; the youngster in question is a monkey, not a little boy; and the state wants to send the monkey to a Detroit zoo. So how close are the two tales?

COMPARISON ELIAN COOKIE

Adopted by foreign-born family? Yes Yes

Endangered species? No Yes

Government threat to remove forcibly? Yes Yes

Neighbors' threat to barricade house to prevent removal? Yes Yes

Personal ties to an older female? Yes Yes Cousin Marisleysis Owner Inna Flikshtein

Wears a miniskirt? No Yes

Watches TV? Yes Yes

Been subject to psychiatric evaluations? Yes Yes

Can speak? Yes No