I harbor a secret desire to own an exotic animal. Although I am not exactly sure what it is I want, I expect it is something amazingly beautiful or dangerous, perhaps even poisonous.One thing that has always turned me off owning a pet is their lack of any practical function. In the case of a standard dog for example, except for the obvious benefits like companionship, security, and exercise that can be derived from regular walks, they don’t really bring much to the table in light of the money they cost to maintain. Other standard pets like cats, birds, and goldfish fair even worse, mostly just consuming vast amounts of money, energy and time.
Although most exotic animals also share these drawbacks, when rare creatures such as say a scorpion, python, or an even a harmless armadillo are domesticated as human pets their natural uniqueness and rare physical features easily balance out this downside to give them an edge over standard pet choices.
This all became apparent to me when I was walking past a pet store the other day in Tokyo and noticed a monkey for sale.
Firstly I didn’t know it was possible to buy a monkey. And while I don’t know anyone with a monkey or have never seen anybody with one around town, I can only imagine they could be trained to perform any number of tricks and menial household chores. Can you also imagine how cool it would be to take a walk around town with a monkey?
So how much does a monkey actually cost? How much do you think a monkey costs? Given that even a standard dog can cost around $1500-2000, I would say a monkey would cost about the same, if not a bit more. Especially given they live up to 30-40 years depending on the species. Personally, I was a bit surprised at the cost of this monkey, but would happily pay it if I were in the market for one.
Answer: 600,000Yen (US$7,100)
