\n Drusillas Park, near Alfriston, has welcomed a family of five Colombian black spider monkeys – which are classed as vulnerable.\n<\/p>\n
\n The species, native to the rainforests of Columbia, was last at the zoo in the 1980s.\n<\/p>\n
\n The monkeys are under serious threat due to widespread deforestation, habitat fragmentation and the illegal wildlife trade.\n<\/p>\n
\n The family consists of dad Mo, mum Jamundi, children Ernie, six, Dilly, one, and Mo\u2019s new mate Moa.\n<\/p>\n
\n They travelled from Twycross Zoo in the East Midlands on Monday, October 20.\n<\/p>\n
\n The Colombian black spider monkeys are classed as vulnerable (Image: Drusillas)\n<\/p>\n
\n A specially designed, immersive habitat with climbing structures, natural planting and enrichment zones has been created for them at the site of the former Lar Gibbon enclosure.\n<\/p>\n
\n It contains tropical planting, including Trachycarpus palms and a variety of climbable trees with built-in divots. There is also an indoor area with heating and a fresh-air ventilation system.\n<\/p>\n
\n They have already been seen swinging on ropes, exploring high platforms and foraging through their first enrichment challenges.\n<\/p>\n
\n Head keeper Gemma Romanis said: “Welcoming a new animal group is always a milestone for the park and the spider monkeys are already proving to be full of character.\n<\/p>\n
\n “They\u2019re intelligent, social and incredibly entertaining, we know visitors are going to fall in love with them instantly.\n<\/p>\n
\n “It\u2019s been a real team effort to prepare for their arrival. From habitat design and specialist diets to social dynamics and behavioural enrichment, we\u2019ve worked closely with the team at Twycross to ensure a smooth transition and the highest standards of care.”\n<\/p>\n
\n Zoo manager Mark Kenward said: \u201cIt\u2019s incredibly exciting to have spider monkeys back at the park – we haven\u2019t had them at Drusillas since the 1980s.\n<\/p>\n
\n “We\u2019re still getting to know them and watching their personalities emerge, but it\u2019s impossible not to fall in love with these big, gangly, and wonderfully expressive monkeys.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u00a0\u201cTheir arrival also plays a vital role in our conservation efforts. As a vulnerable species, having a breeding group here means we can contribute to global initiatives aimed at protecting their future.\n<\/p>\n
\n “Dad Mo has already fathered two infants with his previous partner, Jamundi, and we\u2019re hopeful he\u2019ll welcome more little ones with his new mate, Moa.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Drusillas Park, near Alfriston, has welcomed a family of five Colombian black spider monkeys – which are classed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":221191,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[1397,90,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-221190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-science","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=221190"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221190\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/221191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=221190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=221190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=221190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}