Eighty Christmas trees get second life

AquaZoo Leeuwarden starts the new year with the birth of a white-faced saki. The cub is the sibling of a white-faced saki born at the park in 2023.

The cub came into the world last Thursday. According to head of animal care William Kreijkes, the newborn and its mother are doing well. 'It is an expeienced mother and she takes excellent care of her young. This gives us a lot of confidence.'

The gender is not yet known. Newborn lemurs have the same colours as their mother, which helps them in the wild not to be noticed by predators. In the coming months, the facial markings will change and the gender will become clear. males will have a characteristic white face, while females will retain the dark colouring of their mother.

Ambassadors for conspecifics
The arrival of the youg white-faced saki fits whitin the European management programme (EEP) in which AquaZoo participates. The management programme helps build up a healthy reserve population of this monkey species. The animals at AquaZoo also serve as ambassadors for their conspecifics in the wild. These face various threats, such as deforestation and habitat loss due to deforestation and human activities.

White-faced sakis are native to the tropical rainforests, swamps and forests of South America, particularly in Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname and Venezuela. They live high in the trees, where they find protection from predators. The lithe and powerful animals jump from tree to tree with ease thanks to their strong hind legs and long tail. Because of this, they are sometimes called 'flying monkeys'.