The Houston Zoo said it is following best practices established by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan for Goeldi’s monkeys which has seen the successful raising of Goeldi’s monkeys in the past. Baby’s size and strength is imperative to survival for infant monkeys, and if they are too small or cannot grip onto their parents’ fur, they will not survive unaided by animal care professionals. A female Goeldi’s monkey is pregnant for about five months, after which, she typically gives birth to a single offspring who she carries on her back for about a month before allowing dad to take his turn carrying the baby.
They live in groups of two-12 individuals in the Amazon rainforest and are mostly arboreal, meaning they can be found up in the trees. The zoo said Goeldi’s monkeys are small, predominantly black New World primates that weigh around a pound. Goeldi's monkey named Betty (Jackelin Reyna/Houston Zoo) “Betty and both of her parents, Kylie, and father Opie were moved to the zoo’s state-of-the-art animal hospital to further her care under the supervision of the veterinary staff.” “Unfortunately attempts to encourage Kylie to take the baby…were not immediately successful so the team made the decision to hand-raise Betty while continuing to encourage parental bonding,” the zoo said in its news release. Usually, the primates are around 50 grams or larger at birth, but this tiny one weighed in at only 34 grams, about the weight of a standard light bulb, according to the Houston Zoo’s news release about the baby. In doing so, the animal care professionals found Baby Betty to be significantly smaller than a typical Goeldi’s newborn. The team moved to reintroduce her to her mother, Kylie, a Goeldi monkey. The baby was tiny and hanging onto a branch. HOUSTON – A tiny baby monkey is being hand-raised at the Houston Zoo.īaby Betty – named after icon Betty White who died late last year – was found in the primate enclosure on Jan.
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