Officials at the Detroit Zoo said they are seeking a primate sanctuary as a new home for a pet monkey seized by suburban police.

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Scott Carter, chief life sciences officer at the Detroit Zoo, said he is looking at sanctuaries as possible new homes for Pearl, a marmoset native to South America that had been living with a Southfield family for the past three years, the Detroit Free Press reported Thursday.

Police said the primate was seized from the home Dec. 6 and the owners, who were not named and are not facing charges despite illegally keeping the exotic pet in the city, willingly surrendered Pearl due to possible plans to move in the near future.

Carter said exotic pets often have difficulty adjusting to lives with others of their own species. However, he said primates do best living in pairs or groups.

"People see a baby monkey and think it's the cutest thing they've ever seen, but then it grows up and it's not the monkey they thought it would be," he said.