THE BRONX — The first gelada baboon born in the U.S. in 13 years can now be seen frisking about and clinging to his mother's back this week at the Bronx Zoo.
The bouncing male primate — sometimes called a “bleeding heart baboon” because of a red patch of skin on its chest — was born at the zoo in the fall is now living with his mother, Fayola, in the zoo’s Baboon Reserve in its Africa Plains section.
“This is an exciting birth for the Bronx Zoo and our visitors,” said Jim Breheny, WCS Executive Vice President and General Director of WCS’s Zoos and Aquarium. “To watch the young gelada race around the hillside, jumping and interacting with the adults is an experience not to be missed. It is an inspiring sight that transports you to the East African highlands.”
The young primate, who is yet to be named, is expected to grow to about 65 pounds and will have flowing hair on his back.
He can be seen in a video jumping around his mother and riding on her back.
The gelada’s subsist primarily on grass and communicate with each other through a complex vocabulary of vocalizations and gestures.
The exhibit also includes long-horned mountain goats and rock hyrax, which are small mammals that live in boulders and rock cervices.
You can check the Bronx Zoo’s website for admission information.
