Lincoln Park Zoo Celebrates Birth Of Baby Titi Monkey
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Lincoln Park Zoo is celebrating the birth of a new baby monkey, whom you can see at the zoo's Helen Brach Primate House.
The baby Bolivian gray titi monkey was born just this past Saturday at the zoo. The baby's mother is one of the oldest titi monkeys ever to give birth at an American zoo.
The monkey is so young and small that animal care staffers do not yet know whether it is a boy or a girl.
"The baby is spending most of its time nestled in the thick fur on mom's back, but we do get a glimpse of its little face peeking up now and then," Lincoln Park Zoo Curator of Primates Maureen Leahy said in a news release. "Dad and the siblings are playfully curious with the new arrival, and the whole group is responding appropriately to the addition."
The newborn's mother, Delasol, 21, and Ocala, 15, already have eight offspring. Just last October, the newborn monkey's older brother, Ocho, became the eighth baby born to the titi monkey couple.
Delasol and Ocala were set up together by the Titi Monkeys Species Survival Plan, and Delasol is the oldest mother in the plan to produce healthy offspring.
Titi families are known for being close-knit, with fathers and siblings taking part in child-rearing early on. The titi monkeys at the Lincoln Park Zoo can often be seen sitting close together on the same branch with their tails intertwined, the zoo points out.
