On the morning of October 11th, staff at the Salisbury Zoo were surprised to find a tiny newborn Titi monkey cliging to dad. This guy looks a little sour. Maybe he expected fancier digs.
Here is another Titi monkey born back in March of this year at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. He looks much more content.
Evil Titi monkey versus good little Titi monkey
THE SALISBURY ZOODATE, OCTOBER 16, 2008 On the morning of Saturday, October 11th while the Salisbury Zoo staff was preparing for their biggest fundraiser, Night of the Living Zoo a tiny baby was born. Amongst the ghosts, ghouls, skeletons and the orange pumpkins that riddled Zoo grounds, it was just another ordinary day for most of the animals, except for two furry creatures in the sloth exhibit. Keeper, Joy Gibson-McIntire noticed something different in the animal holding of the sloth exhibit that day. The male and female Titi monkeys were huddled close together and as she peered into their enclosure she noticed what looked like another appendage on the male monkey. As she looked closer she saw a tiny baby monkey clinging to his dad! Threatened mainly by habitat destruction, the Titi monkey is one of 36 species of primates found in the Amazon region. With a total of only 46 Titi monkeys currently in AZA accredited Zoos, the Salisbury Zoo exhibits 2 adults. Titi monkeys are part of AZA’s Species Survival Plan (SSP). Through a coordinated management plan, the long term viability of the captive population of this species is assured. With the addition of this new baby, the managed population among North American Zoos is now at 47 specimens. The Salisbury Zoological Park is proud to be a part of these conservation initiatives. Although these tiny monkeys reach full adult weight at ten months of age, they do not reach sexual maturity until 3-5 years of age. The pair usually mate for life, and like tamarins, the father takes over the care of the infant after it is 2 days old. He carries it, grooms it, shelters it with his body when it rains. He only returns it to the mother to drink milk. This occurs for 4 to 5 months. Youngsters remain in the family until they are about 3 years old, even when other babies are born. Night of the Living Zoo, a Halloween event, is the Zoo’s biggest fundraiser which helps fund the Zoo’s education department and the Zoo’s conservation initiatives. Over 6000 people attended the event this past weekend making this one of the biggest events in Wicomico County and the largest turnout the event has ever seen. “The birth of this little creature has special meaning to all of the Zoo staff and Zoo volunteers, it is what we have worked so hard to do, the timing couldn’t have been better”, said zoo director, Joel Hamilton.
