The Department of Tourism and Leisure’s staff at the Curraghs Wildlife Park are delighted with their newest arrival, a Columbian spider monkey born on Wednesday, 2nd September 2009.
General Manager Nick Pinder commented, "It’s early days yet but this is a significant event for the Wildlife Park as it confirms we have a breeding pair of this rare species of monkey.
"The European studbook-keeper recommended we take the female from Antwerp Zoo and pair her up with a male we had had for many years and it has worked.
"The parents, Bolivia and Kieron, were only paired up late last year and have had the added distraction of Martha, Bolivia’s young daughter, born in 2006. This could be the founding of a new dynasty in spider monkeys."
Richard Halsall, Duty Manager with responsibility for the animal collection, said, "Baby spider monkeys are quite helpless at first and are continuously carried by the mother for the first few months.
"However, Bolivia is a proven parent and if they are left undisturbed there is no good reason why she shouldn’t rear her latest baby.
"At about five months of age young spider monkeys will begin riding their mother’s back, wrapping their tail around her’s for additional security, but they are dependent on mother's milk for two years.’
The Curraghs Wildlife Park is open daily from 10am to 6pm.
Pictured: A baby Columbian Spider Monkey similar to the newborn at the Wildlife Park.
