Two baby patas monkeys have been born at the Rosamond Gifford Zoo in upstate New York, with Iniko delivering Sisu on April 26 and Kasi giving birth to Mushu on May 11. The offspring, fathered by the troop leader Mac, are being raised by zookeepers as their mothers displayed a lack of maternal instinct. Iniko and Kasi are sisters, making Sisu and Mushu half-sisters and members of the patas troop at the zoo where they live in a social group akin to their natural habitat.
The survival rate for patas monkeys is typically low in the wild due to young mothers either being unable or unwilling to care for their offspring. Zoo staff have been closely monitoring Iniko and Kasi for any signs of needing assistance and have intervened to ensure the well-being of Sisu and Mushu. Drawing from past experience of successfully raising Iniko after her mother’s passing in 2020, the keepers are currently nurturing the two half-sisters together.
Ted Fox, the zoo’s Executive Director, expressed the significance of the births in light of the reproductive challenges faced by the species, stating that Iniko and Kasi’s babies are valuable additions to both the zoo’s patas monkey troop and the overall North American population of these monkeys.
