The male spider monkey was born to first-time mum Martina on October 26, and keeper Stephanie Sims said the pair were doing well so far.

“Martina is a natural mother, she is showing all the right maternal behaviours,” keeper Stephanie Sims said.

“She has had the advantage of watching our two other mothers raise their babies over the past year.”

Also making news:

The baby will cling to his mother’s stomach for the next few months, and has only in the last week started to look around.

During his first year he will slowly grow in confidence and start feeding himself, spending small periods of time away from his mum and hanging out with other members of the group.

The baby will still rely on his mother though, as spider monkey babies are not considered completely independent until approximately three years of age.

“At present father Pedro doesn’t play a hands-on role raising the baby however, as he gets older, Pedro will spend time wrestling and playing with him which also teaches specific social skills,” said Stephanie.

The two babies born late last year were very curious at first about the new arrival, getting up close to take a look at the baby. The curiosity has worn off for the time being though.

“As the baby gets older and starts wanting to play with the older two, they will show more interest in him again.”

The black-handed spider monkey regional conservation breeding program has a shortage of breeding males and while every birth is important, having a new genetic bloodline for the program is significant.

“We are really excited that the newest arrival is a male. The two babies from late last year were both females so to have a male this time is really great news,” Stephanie said.

“Martina was actually the last baby to be born in the group, until the birth of the most recent babies born in 2017 and 2018.

The black-handed spider monkeys can be seen at their daily keeper feed at 12.50pm.