Keepers celebrate ‘Monkey Mamas’ after baby boom at the Zoo
Drusillas Park is celebrating monkey mums this Mother’s Day, after a ‘baby boom’ of five ape-solutely adorable infants at the Sussex Zoo. From a critically endangered Sulawesi macaque to a rare pygmy marmoset - the world’s smallest monkey baby, Mothering Sunday is a great opportunity to honour the amazing contribution these monkey mamas have made to the conservation of their species.
The Zoo’s newest monkey babe is a beautiful black and white colobus infant, born on March 15th to experienced Mum Adaeze. The precious baby is easy to spot due to its pure white fur, which will change to the recognisable black and white colouring of the species over the next year. Visitors might also see the baby being passed round the troop, because colobus monkeys practise ‘allo parenting’ where the group take turns caring for infants.
Adaeze and her bundle of joy live in the Park’s conservation focused colobus habitat. Newly opened last year, it was designed to help promote Drusillas’ partnership with charity Colobus Conservation and raise money for the vital work they carry out in Kenya, helping to protect colobus monkeys and their coastal forest habitat.
Another marvellous monkey Mum is pygmy marmoset Rosie, who gave birth to the zoo’s tiniest infant, Nibblet, on February 16th. Pygmy marmosets are the world’s smallest monkeys, with newborns measuring just 3cm (1.2 inches) and weighing about 16 grams (half an ounce)!
Any new baby is cause for celebration at the Park, but this is especially the case for pygmy marmosets - listed as vulnerable by the IUCN red list. Sadly, the species are under threat in the wild due to habitat loss and being captured for the illegal pet trade and sold as 'finger monkeys'. Nibblet, joins older sibling Twiglet, born last year – making Rosie a Mum of two, juggling the parenting with monkey Dad, Ben.
First time Mum, Ahsoka, a Sulawesi black crested macaque, has also made an important contribution to the survival of her species. Populations of this type of macaque have declined by 80% over the last 40 years, and the species is categorised as critically endangered by the IUCN. So, the birth of Ahsoka’s daughter Elsie, on January 11th, marks another success in helping to protect these beautiful primates from extinction.
Now almost 3-months-old, Elsie is certainly testing Ahsoka’s mothering skills as she takes her first ‘steps’. Visitors will spot her trying to break away from Mum and give solo climbing a go, with no regard for her personal safety – something many toddler Mums will relate to!
Just like Mama, Elsie is already starting to develop the jet black hair, striking amber eyes, and bright pink bottom that make the species so recognisable.
Adding double the fun to Mother’s Day, are twin silvery marmosets, born to the zoo’s marmoset group on March 15th. Mum Pearl is doing a fabulous job of taking care of her two new babies, but as all twin Mums will know, two babies is a lot - so thankfully Dad Bonnie is also helping care for them. Visitors will spot the delightful duo clinging on to their parents backs as they move around their habitat at the start of the zoo route.
“We’re thrilled to see such an exciting monkey baby boom at the zoo, especially as we approach Mother’s Day, it’s quite unusual to have two different species births on one day so that was a very exciting morning!” said Gemma Romanis, Drusillas Head Keeper, “All our monkey Mums are such good parents and take wonderful care of their babies. It’s testament to their love and attention that we can have so many successful breeding programmes at Drusillas and we’ll definitely be celebrating them and all that they do for their offspring this Sunday.”
“We’ve got lots of different kind of Mums represented this year,” she continued; “First-time Mum Ahsoka, who has really found her confidence after having Elsie, more experienced Mums like Adaeze and Rosie, and Pearl, who certainly has her hands full as a twin Mum!“
“We have over 20 different endangered and rare species living at Drusillas and every birth represents an accomplishment for conservation. The births are a reminder of the importance of protecting these incredible species, and we hope they inspire our visitors to get involved in some of our conservation efforts too.”