Fife Zoo has welcomed its first baby animal – a De Brazza’s monkey.
The youngster is the first baby to be successfully bred at the Ladybank attraction since it opened in 2019.
It is a welcome boost for the zoo, which has faced two fires and a pandemic-forced closure since opening.
New baby monkey
Briony Taylor, director of Fife Zoo, is delighted to welcome the new baby monkey.
She said: “Our new De Brazza’s monkey is our first that has been successfully bred in captivity.
“These monkeys are really important to breeding programme.
“We don’t know the sex of baby yet, as dad is really protective of mum and the baby and we don’t want to stress them out.”
๐ B A B Y A L E R T ๐
Itโs official! Our first baby at Fife Zoo!
Those of you who visited the zoo this week may have noticed a new arrival for our pair of De Brazzaโs monkeys on Sunday morning. #baby #newborn #babyanimals #zoobaby #babymonkey #zooborns #debrazzasmonkey pic.twitter.com/xpr1SlInui
— Fife Zoo ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฆ (@Fife_Zoo) September 9, 2021
The new baby monkey was born to mum Nuts and dad Dusty, but does not yet have a name.
“The pair had a baby last year, but we think it was stillborn,” said Briony.
“The new baby has been been amazing and feeding well. They’re quite big and look happy. The vets visited the other day and they were happy too.
“They seem super strong, always hanging off mum.”
Briony says Nuts seemed to be pregnant for a long time, which increased the excitement by the time the birth came around.
“It’s always exciting having babies and watching them change,” she added.
“The baby has completely different colours compared to mum and dad – they’re an orangey-yellow right now, but obviously that will change as they get older.”
The family are currently the only De Brazza’s monkeys at the small Ladybank enclosure.
The Fife Zoo faced their second blaze in a year over the summer, with valuable tools, vehicles and a living space perishing in the fire.
Fortunately, no animals or people were hurt in either blaze.
Owners also appealed for help from the public after the second blaze.