HOUSTON – A tiny baby monkey is being hand-raised at the Houston Zoo.
Baby Betty – named after icon Betty White who died late last year – was found in the primate enclosure on Jan. 15. The baby was tiny and hanging onto a branch.
The team moved to reintroduce her to her mother, Kylie, a Goeldi monkey. In doing so, the animal care professionals found Baby Betty to be significantly smaller than a typical Goeldi’s newborn. Usually, the primates are around 50 grams or larger at birth, but this tiny one weighed in at only 34 grams, about the weight of a standard light bulb, according to the Houston Zoo’s news release about the baby.
“Unfortunately attempts to encourage Kylie to take the baby…were not immediately successful so the team made the decision to hand-raise Betty while continuing to encourage parental bonding,” the zoo said in its news release. “Betty and both of her parents, Kylie, and father Opie were moved to the zoo’s state-of-the-art animal hospital to further her care under the supervision of the veterinary staff.”
The zoo said Goeldi’s monkeys are small, predominantly black New World primates that weigh around a pound. They live in groups of two-12 individuals in the Amazon rainforest and are mostly arboreal, meaning they can be found up in the trees. A female Goeldi’s monkey is pregnant for about five months, after which, she typically gives birth to a single offspring who she carries on her back for about a month before allowing dad to take his turn carrying the baby. Baby’s size and strength is imperative to survival for infant monkeys, and if they are too small or cannot grip onto their parents’ fur, they will not survive unaided by animal care professionals.
The Houston Zoo said it is following best practices established by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan for Goeldi’s monkeys which has seen the successful raising of Goeldi’s monkeys in the past. To-date, the smallest to be raised to adulthood was 42 grams. However, the Houston Zoo care team is cautiously optimistic about Betty’s chances. The team anticipates the hand-raising process to take more than three months. Throughout which Betty will spend as much time as safely possible with her family, who will always be within sight of their baby.
There’s no word yet on when Baby Betty will re-join the monkey enclosure at the zoo.
What is the cutest baby animal you’ve ever seen at the Houston Zoo? Let us know in the comments.