{"id":84831,"date":"2017-09-22T21:31:33","date_gmt":"2017-09-23T01:31:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=84831"},"modified":"2017-09-22T20:14:37","modified_gmt":"2017-09-23T00:14:37","slug":"new-patas-monkey-baby-born-at-rosamond-gifford-zoo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=84831","title":{"rendered":"New patas monkey baby born at Rosamond Gifford Zoo"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Photo courtesy Cathy Stolz<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Photo courtesy Cathy Stolz<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A new baby patas monkey was born Saturday, Sept. 16, at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo and can be seen on exhibit in the zoo\u2019s Social Animals building.<\/p>\n

The new baby is the fifth born to patas parents Becca and MJ, who came to the zoo in 2010 along with two other females, Addie and Sara. Becca &amp; MJ\u2019s new baby is the seventh patas monkey born at the zoo.<\/p>\n

Since primates are social animals, Becca remained in the patas monkey exhibit with her extended family before, during and after giving birth. When the baby was born on Saturday, zookeepers roped off the exhibit for a couple of days to observe mother and baby and give them time to bond. The zoo began allowing visitors back in to the exhibit on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Since its birth, the tiny monkey has spent all its time clinging to its mother and nursing. While other monkeys in the group may want to hold the baby, the mom will resist anyone but her touching the newborn for several weeks, said zoo director Ted Fox. This is why it may take a few days to determine the baby\u2019s gender.<\/p>\n

\u201cGradually, the baby will start to take some steps away from the mother in a few weeks,\u201d Fox said. \u201cLike any primate baby, as it grows it will venture further away until it is weaned and independent. Patas monkeys become mature between 3 and 4 years of age.\u201d<\/p>\n

Patas monkeys are native to the rainforests of Western Africa through the savannahs of Kenya, where their populations are declining due to poaching and habitat destruction. About 15 zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos &amp; Aquariums participate in a Species Survival Plan to\u00a0manage this species. The Rosamond Gifford Zoo has sent patas monkeys born here to Zoo Boise in Idaho, Como Zoo in St. Paul, Minn., and the Memphis Zoo to establish colonies there.<\/p>\n

Patas monkeys are the world\u2019s fastest primates and can run at speeds of more than 30 miles per hour. They are also known as dancing monkeys because they jump around when excited or at play.\u00a0They have long, slender bodies and long limbs for speed and climbing. The adults have a black brow ridge and white mustache. Babies are born all black, but their fur will start fading to reddish brown three to six months after birth.<\/p>\n

Keepers hope to determine the new zoo baby\u2019s gender in time for a Sept. 30 Party for the Patas Monkeys to celebrate the new arrival.<\/p>\n

Come celebrate the new zoo baby at a Patas Party!
\nSaturday, Sept. 30, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
\nParty for the Patas will include morning and afternoon patas monkey keeper chats, a coloring\u00a0craft, a raffle for a patas monkey themed gift basket, and a chance to see the new baby on\u00a0exhibit or \u2013 weather permitting \u2013 outside in the zoo\u2019s Primate Park.<\/p>\n

The event is free to members or with zoo admission.<\/p>\n

Schedule:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • 10 a.m. \u2013 Free toy monkey to the first 200 children<\/li>\n
  • 11 a.m. \u2013 Patas Monkey Keeper Chat<\/li>\n
  • 2 p.m. — Patas Monkey Keeper Chat<\/li>\n
  • All day \u2013 Coloring craft, monkey-themed food at Jungle Caf\u00e9, enter to win a monkey themed gift basket raffle; suggest a name for the new patas monkey baby<\/li>\n
  • Enter to win a baby patas monkey gift basket raffle<\/li>\n
  • 3 p.m. — Raffle drawing \u2013 winner announced<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    For more information, visit rosamondgiffordzoo.org. Watch a YouTube video of our patas monkeys playing in Primate Park at youtu.be\/9UmQBDtpK48.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    A new baby patas monkey was born Saturday, Sept. 16, at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo and can be seen on exhibit in the zoo\u2019s Social Animals building. The new baby is the fifth born to patas parents Becca and MJ, who came to the zoo in 2010 along with two other females, Addie and Sara. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":84832,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[23813,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-84831","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","category-top-story"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p43meu-m4f","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/madisoncountycourier.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Zoo_Cathy_Stolz_Patas_Monkey_DSC_2065-3.jpg?fit=540%2C453&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84831","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=84831"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/84831\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/84832"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=84831"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=84831"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=84831"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}