On November 6th, the 6th baby Squirrel monkey of the season was born at the Colchester Zoo. Since October 15th, the zoo has been averaging two new squirrel monkey babies per week! Babies are cared for communally by the females in the group.

 
The Squirrel Monkey is currently listed as vulnerable in the wild mainly due to habitat loss due to forest clearing to make way for agricultural land. They are also subject to poaching and are commonly sold as pets in both domestic and foreign markets. The little monkeys are easy to capture and are frequently smuggled out of the country of origin. They like vegetation which provides good cover from birds of prey like the rainforest, mangroves, or marshland.
 
Colchester Zoo's baby boom in the Squirrel monkey group is only a part of the successful primate breeding programme within the Zoo. We have also had recent births in our Mandrill troop and were also pleased to announce the birth of a baby Colobus monkey last month