Female monkeys get special Bounty
Thursday 9 October 2008
ZSL London Zoo’s group of female black capped squirrel monkeys have just received a nice surprise. The 11 girls, who live in the special ‘Meet the Monkeys’ walkthrough, have been joined by new arrival Bounty, a boy!
© ZSL - Adam Davies
Bounty, who joined us from a wildlife park in France, has come to start a breeding group with the females. However things are not quite as simples as that - introducing a new animal into an exhibit is a very complicated process.
Keeper Adam Davies explained that ‘with animals as socially complex as primates it requires a lot of keeper time to monitor controlled introductions between animals, to make sure the existing group will accept a new arrival.
‘As a result Bounty was initially housed in off-show dens in the non-walkthrough area of the enclosure. He was allowed to spend afternoons with just a few female monkeys at a time who were regularly rotated, so they could all get used to each other in a manageable environment before he was released into the walkthrough.’
Bounty can now be found out in the walkthrough area where he is happily getting along with all of his ladies. However they are all just as mischievous as ever, so when visiting make sure to not let them get too close to your camera or mobile phone!
