Callimico Care

Don’t sweat the small stuff…

That is hard advice for keepers in Tropic World: South America to follow. Off exhibit, they recently had their hands full with a tiny package that weighed only a few grams. Her name is Gabby, and she is a baby callimico.

Gabby was born in December of 2005. Like all callimicos (also called Goeldi’s monkeys), she has jet black hair and her bird-like, high-pitched vocalizations can be heard from across the room. Her mother, Gracie, had been a good mom in the past; but this time she needed help with the demanding work of caring for a baby callimico. Keepers quickly stepped in to lend a hand.

For keepers, this help is a balancing game---doing as much as they can to ensure the little monkey is healthy without getting them too used to humans. The goal is to ensure a healthy, socially well-adjusted primate that can go back to living with their family in just a few months. The work is demanding and tough---luckily, keepers have a plan.

Over the years, Brookfield Zoo keepers have become experts in callimico care and hand-rearing the tiny offspring. In fact, they wrote the book on it! Brookfield Zoo staff manage the callimico Species Survival Plan and wrote the husbandry manual that outlines how these secretive animals should be cared for in zoos. The zoo has been home to these squirrel-sized South American monkeys since a group of them were confiscated from illegal pet traders in 1977. In the last 15 years, keepers have created new techniques in caring for the offspring. These techniques are a huge departure from the way primates were hand-reared in the past, but the changes have paid off with better acclimated animals both here and at other zoos which have consulted with Tropic World staff...

Giving Gabby Something to Grasp
Baby callimicos are delicate creatures. They weigh only two ounces at birth, require feeding every two hours, are easily chilled, and can dehydrate quickly. Most of all, they just need something to hold onto. When keepers stepped in to help Gabby, that something was a little black plush animal that was a stand-in for Gracie. But even though Gabby wasn’t clutching her mom, the real thing was never far away. Gabby slept in an incubator to keep her safe and warm; but the incubator was placed in the off-exhibit callimico enclosure where she could be seen and smelled by her family at all times.

Gabby’s mom was hand-reared too. But keepers do not think that Gracie’s background was the reason she needed help caring for Gabby. Gracie cared for her first baby very well, so keepers are not sure what went wrong this time, but suspect that the death of the father may have triggered the problem. Leila is another current callimico mom who had been hand-reared by keepers. She gave birth at the same time as Gracie and cared for her offspring well immediately.

No matter what the reason was for the initial problem, sixty days after Gabby’s birth, the plush parent gave way to the real thing when Gabby was reintroduced to Gracie. Mom did great! She carried her baby and groomed her—both natural indications of caring. Gracie even sat calmly while keepers bottle-fed Gabby, as she perched on Mom’s back.

Happy Endings
Gabby and Gracie are doing great behind the scenes and the work that has gone into their care illustrates the commitment that Brookfield Zoo has for this elusive mini-monkey. Because of their secretive nature, little is known about them, but the zoo has continued to work to research and protect these primates. Brookfield Zoo’s scientists have gone into the rain forests of Bolivia to study them, done in-depth nutritional analyses to ensure a proper diet, continue to guide the Species Survival Plan, and even created an innovative educational program for children living near where callimicos are found in the wild.

And if you want to see the results of all these efforts, just pop into Tropic World: South America and visit Noodle. She and her buddy Nick have recently gone on exhibit with Moss Sloth. Noodle is another callimico who was hand-reared by keepers and will be featured in this summer’s Zoo Stars event series. Watch for more on her later this year.