ZSL London Zoo Add Saki Monkeys To Rainforest House

A trio of white-faced saki monkeys are the latest arrivals to take up residence in the Rainforest Life house at ZSL London Zoo.

The family of three includes Mum Kaituma, Dad Milagre and 10-month-old baby Maya who made the move to central London from the other ZSL site, ZSL Whipsnade Zoo. They arrived on April 27th 2023 and have since been settling in to the temperature-controlled tropical biome,

Rainforest Life.

Their move across the countryside was made easy thanks to efforts by keepers to train them to voluntarily enter their purpose built travel crates with the lure of a tasty peanut.

At the zoo they are living alongside some new neighbours in their first shared habitat. They will live alongside several other rainforest species including tamanduas and a baby two-toed sloth. 

Monkey keeper Veronica Heldt explained: “The Saki monkeys are settling into their new home really well and, after some initial nervousness, have started to interact with the other animals in the walk-through exhibit.”  

“The Sakis love sweet potatoes and peppers, so we made sure we had plenty of veg on-hand for their arrival,” Veronica said. “Saki monkeys are great fruit fiends in the wild and have specially adapted incisors and canines to break through tough fruit, seeds and nuts. However, the fruit you or I eat is too sweet for the monkeys, so Milagre, Kaituma and Maya will enjoy a diet of nutritious vegetables and leafy greens instead.” 

“Little Maya is now 10 months old and is starting to venture away from mum, Kaituma,” Keeper Veronica continued. “Saki monkeys tend to operate in monogamous pairs and small families, so we hope it won’tbe long before we hear the pitter-patter of money paws here at London Zoo soon.” 

The saki family join over 15,000 other animals which call London's conservation zoo home.