Baby Saki Monkey a Folly First
Baby joy for the zoo team as they welcome the first ever baby saki monkey.
Born to parents Bela and Kayapo on January 19, our zoo team welcomed an adorable new arrival to the zoo family, in the form of an adorable white-faced baby saki monkey!
This infant is the first baby saki monkey born at Folly Farm and keepers couldn’t contain their excitement at the discovery. Each day, baby grows stronger and more confident – and although it’s too cold outdoors for baby to venture outdoors at the moment, guests may spot the new arrival clinging onto mums back if they peek inside the viewing window at their Jungle Journeys enclosure.
Infants tend to stay with their mothers up until they’re at least four months old, until they are brave and strong enough to start exploring a little more independently. Dads tend to enjoy the laid back approach, and don’t bother too much with their young until they are much older, where they have been known to play and share their food.
“It’s always great to welcome new animals to the zoo family, but when it’s a baby that you’ve never had before, it’s even more special! We’re pleased that Bela and Kayapo were matched through the managed breeding programme for the species due to our membership with EAZA. This is a great success for us, and for the species!”
Rosie – primate keeper
Mum ‘Bella’, and dad ‘Kayapo’ arrived separately at the zoo in the summer of 2023 through the European Breeding Programme for the species, in the hopes that they’d become a breeding pair. So it’s safe to say this was a breeding success story for the species!
Although listed as ‘least concern’ on the IUCN Red List, numbers of saki monkeys in the wild are declining, with habitat destruction and the pet trade being some of the major threats to their population.
Female saki monkeys are brown in colour, whilst males are mainly black but sport a distinctive white face. At almost four weeks old, baby hasn’t been named yet as keepers don’t know if it’s a male or female. And even though the baby’s colouring is similar to mum at the moment, this could very well change! This species originate from South America and a mating pair tend to stay together forever – so this is certainly the ‘happily ever after’ we wanted for these popular primates!