February 4, 2021 – Scovill Zoo has announced the birth of a spider monkey. The mother, Ethel, gave birth back on January 13, 2021. The zoo reports that the baby is doing well.
Right after being born the baby can cling onto the mother’s hair while she climbs and jumps from perch to perch. In the wild, spider monkeys come from Central and South America.
Ethel (age 17) was born at the Henson Robinson Zoo in Springfield and came to Scovill Zoo in 2008. Willie (age 24), the proud father, was born at Henry Doorly Zoo, Omaha, Nebraska, went to the Santa Anna Zoo in California, then came to Scovill Zoo in 2012.
This is the first baby for this spider monkey couple and the first spider monkey born at Scovill Zoo. At this time the gender of the baby is still unknown.
Image courtesy of Zoos Victoria.
