Australian zoo welcomes births of spider monkeys and a tree kangaroo
PERTH, Aust. (CBS, KYMA/KECY) - Perth Zoo in Western Australia said it experienced a “baby boom” this winter, having welcomed two Bolivian squirrel monkey babies and a Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo joey in the space of a few months.
The video from the zoo shows the two baby monkeys, who were born to mothers Sue and Vivo, and a female joey who is soon to be named.
"Sue and Vivo were doing well, helped by the other females in the group," said Primate Keeper Mel Mirville.
"The moms are doing really well, they’ve taken to motherhood really, really quickly, we’ve seen the babies latching and suckling, we’ve seen them holding on really tight," Mirville said.
"It’s also really special because in the social groups of squirrel monkeys the mothers will share the care of the young, so we can see this ‘aunting’ behavior that’s really important for the female social dynamic, so it’s really exciting to see how they develop into those roles as well," she added.
The baby spider monkeys were on display to the public in the zoo’s Amazonia habitat.
As for the Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo joey, the zoo said she was doing well, gradually growing and even trying solid foods.
The public will soon be able to vote to name the joey, with names Winbe, Muku, and Sumil suggested by the Tenkile Conservation Alliance (TCA).
The names all represent villages in Papua New Guinea, the home of the Goodfellow’s tree kangaroo and a location where TCA does important conservation work, the zoo said.
