Dublin Zoo births will aid mangabey’s fight against extinction

Two newborn monkeys are set to add the cuteness factor to RTÉ’s hit series The Zoo when they make their screen debut tonight.

The adorable primates — which weigh less than a pound when they are born — will also play a vital role in saving their species from extinction.

Seven-week-old female Elmina is the newest addition to her family while her six-month-old male cousin Oda arrived in November to boost the zoo’s population of the white-crowned monkeys which are down to 3,000 in their native Africa.

Dublin Zoo — which have welcomed 19 baby mangabeys in the last decade — is working with a leading conservation organisation with the eventual aim of placing the critically endangered monkeys back in the wild in Ghana.

Helen Clarke-Bennett, team leader of the African Plains section in Dublin Zoo, said the mangabey monkeys are proving to be great mothers.

She said: “Tema gave birth to a female called Elmina in March and her sister Monifa gave birth to a little male Oda. They are both very good mothers and these are third generation births. There are five youngsters there and it’s like one big happy crèche.

“They all play together and look out for one another. The youngsters carry the babies around and it’s very important for their development.

“These monkeys are found in Ghana and the Ivory Coast and we’ve been naming all the babies after towns and cities and regions within Ghana.”

And she told how the dominant male of the group, Danso, has proved to be a very hands-on father even being present at the birth of one of his youngsters in full view of the watching public.

She said: “Danso helped to deliver a baby of Monifa’s last April. He helped to pull it out. It has never been seen before in any zoo.”

She said Dublin Zoo is delighted with the arrival of the youngsters as their numbers are so endangered in the wild.

She said: “They are critically endangered in the wild. They have been severely hit by the bush meat trade and deforestation in general. They would be considered to be a delicacy.

“There are certainly less than 3,000 in Ghana and the Ivory Coast.”

The zookeeper said Dublin Zoo are one of the leading zoos when it comes to breeding the distinctive monkeys and are hoping to eventually be able to place some of the offspring back in the wild.

The Zoo will be shown on RTÉ One tonight at 7pm.