ZooBorns

Sneak Peek: Infant Squirrel Monkey Gets Bottle-Fed at Warsaw Zoo

An orphaned Common Squirrel Monkey is in very good hands at Warsaw Zoo. The infant was born at the zoo on March 28th and is now being bottle fed and raised by dedicated caretakers. The tiny monkey is male who weighed just 167 grams at birth. He is healthy and doing well.  

Photo credits: Warsaw Zoo

Common Squirrel Monkeys are found abundantly throughout the rain-forests of South America. Very agile and playful, they are highly social animals that live in hierarchical groups. Males and females live in separate social groups. The females tend stay based around certain feeding and resting sites, while males travel more widely. During the mating season, the dominant male will mate with many or all the mature females that his group encounters.

Learn more after the fold! 

Rare Wolf's Guenon Born at Sacramento Zoo

On January 26th, Sacramento Zoo's female Wolf's Guenon gave birth to her first infant. Currently, there are fewer than 35 of these monkeys, housed at 11 AZA institutions in the United States. Mother Mimi and father Eddie have been very protective of the baby, making it difficult for keepers to determine the weight or even its sex.

 
“Little is known about Wolf’s Guenons because of their small population in zoos. In the wild, the dense forests in which they live make them hard to spot,” said Harrison Edell, Sacramento Zoo General Curator. “This birth is significant to the Sacramento Zoo; with every birth, we learn more about this species’ biology, contributing to our overall knowledge about this species.” 

Wolf’s Guenons are native to central Africa where they inhabit forests and forage for fruits, seeds, and an occasional insect. Forming loose family groups in the wild, these monkeys are even known to spend time with other primate species including Bonobos, colobus monkeys and other guenons. A larger mixed-species group may mean that there are more eyes on the lookout for predators, and many guenons have learned to recognize other monkeys’ alarm calls so that they know how to respond correctly if a neighbor spots a leopard or eagle.

Photo Credit, Mike Owyang, Sacramento Zoo

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It's a Tiny Baby Titi Monkey for Belfast Zoo

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Maryland Zoo Welcomes Baby Colobus Monkey

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It's a Tiny Baby Titi Monkey for Belfast Zoo!

Belfast Zoo is celebrating the arrival of a tiny Titi! The zoo has been home to Red Titi Monkeys since 2010 when mother, Inca, and father, Aztec, arrived from London Zoo and Blackpool Zoo respectively. They welcomed daughter, Maya, in July 2011; with this new baby, the Zoo is now home to a total of four Red Titi Monkeys.

Delighted Zoo manager, Mark Challis, said, “2013 is already proving to be an exciting year for Belfast Zoo, with the birth of our Linne’s Two-toed Sloth and now, the arrival of our Red Titi Monkey. The whole team is excited about what the new year has to bring!”

Red Titi Monkeys are found in South American rain forests and are an unusual primate, as they are monogamous and mate for life. Aztec and Inca can often be seen sitting or sleeping with their tails intertwined. It will, however, be Aztec who has his hands full with the little one. Male Titi Monkeys play a very active role in the parenting, often carrying and caring for the young.

Photo Credit: Belfast Zoo

UPDATE! Baby Patas Monkey Gets Her Name

”We are pleased to announce that our youngest Patas Monkey is a girl,” said Ted Fox, Director of the Rosamond Gifford Zoo. “She has been named Zarina.” And so the result of the naming contest for the New York Zoo's newest baby monkey was known.  

After the birth of the baby on November 30, the public was asked to vote on names. Since the baby is female, the choices were: Cheche, Kenya and Zarina. After nearly a week of voting, Zarina rose to the top with 54.5 percent of the votes. Marishka Biela, age 7, of Bernhard’s Bay, had submitted the winning name in 2011. It is an African word meaning “golden.”

Zarina is the second offspring to parents Sara and M.J.  Her brother Ty was born earlier in the year, on January 17. She also has two half sisters, D.J. and Kibibi. You can read all about the baby, see several great pictures and watch another video of her HERE on ZooBorns.

Photo Credit: Rosamond Gifford Zoo  

Watch below as she practices a few wobbly steps to catch up with Mom.

Help Name this Baby Patas Monkey!

New York’s Rosamond Gifford Zoo is pleased to announce the birth of its fourth Patas Monkey in just under two years. Parents Sara and M.J. welcomed the new baby early in the evening on November 30. You can get a peek at the new baby via web cam.

Though the baby’s gender is not yet known, you are invited to help the staff choose a name so they’ll have a moniker ready when the sex is determined.  Cast your vote here by 4 PM EST December 19.

Girl                               Boy                                        

Cheche                        Harry Patas
Kenya                          Jabari
Zarina                          Jabu

The Rosamond Gifford Zoo is one of only 15 American zoos to house Patas Monkeys. “The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) is working diligently to increase the Patas Monkey population,” said Ted Fox, zoo director. They are part of a Species Survival Plan (SSP) - a collaborative effort between AZA zoos to help ensure their survival. 

Patas Monkeys are members of the Guenon family, a diverse group of African monkeys found from the rain forests of Western Africa to the savannahs of Kenya. Patas Monkeys are one of the fastest primates, capable of reaching speeds of 30 mph. Patas are recognized by a black brow ridge and nose, as well as by a distinctive white area surrounding their mouths that resembles a mustache.

Photo credit:  Terri Redhead

Tiny King Born at Paignton Zoo

There’s been a royal birth at Paignton Zoo!  A King Colobus Monkey was born on October 3.

This is the fourth baby for father Martin and mother Ivy.  King Colobus babies typically weigh under two pounds.  The sex is not yet known – the first vet check is not due until the youngster is at least 6 months old.

Colobus babies are born with pure white fur, but they develop the species’ typical black markings at about one month of age.  The new arrival brings the zoo’s Colobus troop to six individuals.

The baby is important, as Paignton Zoo Curator of Mammals Neil Bemment explained: “There are only six collections in Europe holding King Colobus, so the birth is special as we and EAZA - the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria - want this population to grow.”

The species is listed by the IUCN as Vulnerable. It is threatened by habitat destruction and hunting for food. Paignton Zoo participates in the European zoos' Endangered Species Programme (EEP) for King Colobus.

King Colobus Monkeys live in the forests of central Africa, where they feed on leaves.  They often rest quietly for hours while they digest this low-value food in their unusually large stomachs. King Colobus Monkeys spend their lives in the tree-tops. Four long fingers on each forelimb grasp branches like hooks.

Photo Credit:  Ray Wiltshire

Giants Fans: San Francisco Zoo Has a New "Rally" Baby!

A black and orange baby arrived at the San Francisco Zoo in synch with the baseball Giants' playoff success. The good luck baby is a female Francois' Langur Monkey. She is the 17th of her kind to be born at the zoo since 1985. San Fransisco is one of the most successful zoos at breeding this rare monkey, of which only around 2000 remain in the wild.

Parenting duties are shared amongst females in the Langur group. This gives mom a break and allows the infant's aunts and sisters to gain valuable mothering experience. The baby will remain orange and black for the next three to sixth months.

Photo credit: Marianne Hale / SF Zoo

 

 

Peek-A-Boo! Little Goeldi's Marmoset gets first look at the world

The Goeldi’s Marmoset troop at the Vancouver Aquarium welcomed a new addition in early September.  This is the fourth baby born to Ginger, the troop’s matriarch, and an important addition to the captive population of these primates, which are classified as Vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Kristen Brown, the animal care specialist responsible for these animals, says that female Goeldi’s marmosets generally have two offspring a year. Kristen says the baby will spend the next couple of weeks hanging on to its mom’s shoulders, crawling to her belly when it’s time to nurse.  Eventually, the baby will begin to venture out on its own and become interested in what everyone else is eating: fruits, vegetables and insects.

After two months, the baby will start jumping and climbing as it grows stronger. And if past experience is any indication, it will also start to chase and be chased by its brothers and sisters.

Goeldi’s Marmosets are native to the upper Amazon Basin in South America.  These tiny primates are only about 8 inches (20 cm) long, excluding the tail.  Like most tropical primates, they feed on fruit, insects, and small vertebrates.  During the dry season, they feed on fungi, making them the only tropical primate to depend on this food item.

Photo Credit: Neil Fisher

Endangered Monkey Born at Santa Ana Zoo

The Santa Ana Zoo in Prentice Park is pleased to announce the birth of a rare Crested Capuchin Monkey (Cebus robustus) on May 7. The new infant is the Zoo's third birth of this species, which is considered endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature This birth is an important contribution to the conservation program established in North America. 

Crested capuchin monkeys are a medium sized primate native to rapidly disappearing forests along the Atlantic coast of Brazil. In the wild, capuchins feed on a wide variety of fruits, insects, seeds, leaves, and even small mammals. Zookeeper Dina Orbison says “it is immensely gratifying to participate in this international effort and to educate our visitors about such unique and inquisitive animals”.

Photo Credits: Ethan Fisher/Santa Ana Zoo

Read more after the jump:

Baby Saki Monkey Born at Brevard Zoo

Brevard Zoo’s first Saki Monkey was born on April 27 to first-time mom Chuckie. The baby is a female, but has not yet been named. The 8 year-old mom, or dam, was born at Sacramento Zoo. The sire, Yuki, age 20, was born at Jackson Zoo.

Saki Monkeys are part of the Species Survival Plan through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. and Chuckie and Yuki are a recommended breeding. Females are desperately needed in the captive population so it is an extra boon that their offspring is a girl. Both mom and baby are on exhibit in the La Selva loop. 

Photo Credit: Brevard Zoo