Spider Monkey Born at Prague Zoo

Look closely at the dominant female’s abdomen — that is the key to spotting the baby Mexican spider monkey. Photo by Petr Hamerník, Prague Zoo.

Jan Mengr, curator of primates at Prague Zoo, said: “The little monkey appears to be thriving. It is alert and shows interest in its surroundings. It also watches its mother’s behaviour and is completely dependent on her milk. The female is still very protective of her offspring and does not let anyone near it.” He added that the youngster’s sex is still unknown.

They are called “spider monkeys” because of their agility and prehensile tail, which from a distance looks like an extra limb. More than ten species live in forests from southern Mexico to Brazil. The Mexican subspecies is found in Mexico, Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. Its greatest threat is human-caused habitat loss. According to the latest estimates, its populations could decline by up to half by 2060.

Hunting for the illegal trade is another reason for the spider monkey’s gradual disappearance from the wild. In southern Mexico, for example, many roadside vendors sell caged spider monkeys as “pets”. The situation is made worse by the monkey’s slow reproductive cycle. Females give birth to just one baby every two to four years.

The young spider monkey was born at Prague Zoo on Monday, 13 April. The photo shows the baby at exactly one week old. Photo by Petr Hamerník, Prague Zoo.

Primate keeper Nikola Kučerová explained how to distinguish the individual monkeys in Prague Zoo’s six-member group: “The previous offspring born in Prague, a female who is nearly six and a three-year-old male, are still in the group. The male in particular is becoming an inquisitive adolescent and often plays with his older sister. In addition to the parental pair—a dominant male with a dark face and an experienced mother with a light face and dark eyes—the group also includes another unrelated, blue-eyed female.”

Spider monkeys are diurnal, so they are active throughout the zoo’s opening hours. In April and May, the zoo welcomes visitors from 9 am to 6 pm. These primates spend most of their time in an outdoor enclosure on one of the Monkey Islands, specifically among the gharials and tapirs. They receive leafy greens and primate pellets three times a day. Their diet is further supplemented with dried fruit and various types of nuts, including hazelnuts, peanuts, walnuts and pecans.

Prague Zoo has had the greatest success in breeding Mexican spider monkeys in Europe. It began keeping them in 2005, and the first infant was born in 2007. Since then, the group has grown regularly, with new offspring born every three to four years.

Many visitors gasp as the female, with the baby on her belly, deftly climbs high in the trees or jumps among the branches. However, the baby’s grasp reflex appears to be fine, so it is not in danger. Photo by Petr Hamerník, Prague Zoo.