Baby monkey puzzler.Byline: RICHARD GRAY STAFF at a Scots zoo were stunned yesterday when they opened their new gibbon gibbon, small ape, genus Hyloblates, found in the forests of SE Asia. The gibbons, including the siamang, are known as the small, or lesser, apes; they are the most highly adapted of the apes to arboreal life. enclosure to find a new baby inside. Keepers at Edinburgh Zoo Edinburgh Zoo, formally the Scottish National Zoological Park, is situated in the Corstorphine area of Edinburgh, not far from Murrayfield Stadium. had been expecting just four Siamang siamang: see gibbon. gibbons inside the brand new high-rise monkey house. But, as they let the animals into the cage for the first time, they spotted a newborn baby clinging to its mother Fern. A spokeswoman for the zoo said staff had been amazed to find a baby. She said: "No one saw the new baby at first but then Fern came down to get some food. "Then someone spotted a small lump of fur clinging to her belly and we realised she had a baby. "It was just amazing and we were all on a high." Incredibly, experts at the zoo had not even realised that 20-year-old Fern was expecting. The spokeswoman added: "The keepers had not even been sure she was pregnant. "Unfortunately we don't yet know if the baby is a boy or a girl as the baby is clinging too tightly to its mother." The youngster, who has not yet been named, was born at around 1am yesterday. It will stay at the new 30ft high pounds 29,000 enclosure with its proud mother. CAPTION(S): SWINGER: Fern can now enjoy life in Edinburgh zoo's new enclosure; PROUD MUM: Fern the gibbon with her zoo surprise |
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