AquaZoo Friesland happily surprised with special birth of Peruvian black-faced squirrel monkey!

AquaZoo Friesland was surprised last week with the birth of a Peruvian black-faced squirrel monkey. It is a special birth, as squirrel monkeys are rarely born in the fall. Mother and little one are doing well and staying nice and warm in AquaZoo's indoor enclosure.

Endangered species
"The mating season for these animals is in the winter, so births actually always occur in the summer months. So the arrival of this black-faced squirrel monkey so late in the year is extra special," says head of animal care Stephanie Jessen of AquaZoo. And the birth is not only special, but also very important. "Our newborn squirrel monkey can hopefully contribute in the future to the European breeding program for species conservation of these beautiful animals."

Peruvian black-faced squirrel monkeys
Peruvian black-faced squirrel monkeys are found in the wild exclusively in Peru. These monkeys live in groups of about 25 to 50 animals. Sometimes several groups join together creating very large groups of hundreds of animals. The mating season of Peruvian squirrel monkeys is in the wet season, which in the Netherlands is the winter period. The gestation period of these monkeys is about five months, so little ones are always born during the summer season.

The first images!