Baby Monkey Arrives at Brooklands Zoo

Brooklands Zoo’s capuchin troop has increased by one after the birth of a baby.

The baby capuchin was born on 29 September to Dixie, one of the females transferred from Hamilton Zoo last year. The father is Boo, who was born at Brooklands Zoo eight years ago.

“Dixie is being very nurturing and protective of the baby – which is particularly good as Dolly, another capuchin, has a history of taking newborns from their mothers,” says Technical Officer Zoo Eve Cozzi.

“It’s still reasonably early days for the baby but Dixie has been feeding it and keeping Dolly away from it for two weeks now, so we’re more confident about its chances for survival.”

Brooklands Zoo is part of an international breeding programme for the capuchin monkey.

“The purpose of transferring capuchins between Brooklands and Hamilton was to add to the international population with a wider genetic group, so this baby is the start of a breeding programme that will benefit the captive capuchin population long-term,” says Ms Cozzi.

Once the gender of the baby is known, the zoo will hold a competition for the public to name the new capuchin.

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