Monkey mama: Phoenix Zoo welcomes first baby squirrel monkey in nearly a decade
Jul 28, 2016, 5:13 PM
(Phoenix Zoo Photo/Phoenix Zoo Exhibit Guide Marissa Bello)
(Phoenix Zoo Photo/Phoenix Zoo Exhibit Guide Marissa Bello)
PHOENIX — It’s a boy! The Phoenix Zoo announced Thursday it has welcomed the first squirrel monkey born at the zoo in nearly a decade.
The zoo said the little one — named Tuvok — was born July 15. Both he and his mother, Tasha, are doing well and are on display at the zoo inside the Monkey Village, an area where squirrel monkeys are permitted to wander openly as visitors walk by.
The little monkey already weighs 111 grams. Squirrel monkeys typically weigh as much as 15 percent of their mother’s weight at birth.
Tuvok is expected to ride on his mother’s back for several weeks until he grows old enough to begin exploring the exhibit on his own.
The 13 other monkeys in the exhibit — groups of squirrel monkeys are called troops — are being protective of the new addition.
While the zoo is open 7 a.m.-2 p.m. daily during the summer, Monkey Village is only open 8 a.m.-noon. However, the exhibit and its inhabitants, including Tuvok, are visible from the zoo pathway.
The last squirrel monkey born at the Phoenix Zoo was delivered nearly nine years ago.
