TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — What’s cuter than a spider monkey? A baby spider monkey.
Last Thursday, the Brevard Zoo announced that a black-handed spider monkey named Tika welcomed her eighth baby.
While the zoo’s spider monkeys usually give birth at night, Tika’s water broke in the middle of the day on April 17, which allowed her caretakers observe the birth.
The rest of the troop at the Brevard Zoo showed a lot of interest in the baby monkey, but Tika only let her other children investigate.
“Mateo has been spending some time sitting snuggled up next to Tika and checking the baby out,” said Sidnee Santana-Mellor, assistant curator of animals.
The new baby will now spend the next few months clinging to its mom and nursing.
“Once the baby gains some confidence and coordination, they will climb off Mom for short periods of time,” Santana-Mellor said. “They will begin building new relationships with the other monkeys in the troop and continue hitching rides from Tika until about a year old.”
Until mother and baby get some distance, the zoo’s staff will not be able to examine the baby monkey and determine the sex.
