‘Sweet’ baby monkey bonds with his mom at Pennsylvania zoo. See the ‘newest addition’
A baby red-tailed monkey is the “newest addition” to a primate exhibit at the Philadelphia Zoo.
Khari was born on Aug. 8 and has been exploring the habitat shared with black and white colobus monkeys, the zoo said in a Sept. 3 Facebook post. He can be seen by visitors.
According to zoo staff, Khari is healthy and known to be a “sweet boy.”
His mom, Lulu, and dad, Ahnmom, were the first red-tailed monkeys at the Philadelphia Zoo since 1928, according to a news release. They arrived in June 2023.
Red-tailed monkeys are classified as Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, according to a 2023 news release from the zoo, but the species still faces threats.
There are five subspecies of red-tailed monkeys native to Central Africa, according to the New England Primate Conservatory.
“The ‘Least Concern’ label granted by the IUCN accounts for the species overall, while further distinctions in threatened status are not provided or known for the five subspecies,” the conservatory said.
Some red-tailed monkeys are hunted for bushmeat trade or killed for encroaching into agricultural areas, according to the conservatory.
The species is adept at surviving despite declining conditions due to their habitat flexibility, the conservatory said.
Their “long” limbs and “even longer” tail help the monkeys navigate through the trees, according to the conservatory’s website.
“Other populations may live in fragmented forested habitats, open woodlands, or grasslands,” the website said.
This story was originally published September 4, 2024 at 5:15 PM with the headline "‘Sweet’ baby monkey bonds with his mom at Pennsylvania zoo. See the ‘newest addition’."
