NEWS - BABY MONKEY DIES IN FALL AT ATLANTA ZOO

Baby monkey dies in fall at Zoo Atlanta

 

By Associated Press

For the AJC

A newborn golden lion tamarin at Atlanta's zoo has died.


Zoo Atlanta said the 4-day old monkey died Wednesday after an accidental fall. It was one of three infants born to 5-year-old Robin Saturday. Another infant died shortly after the birth.
Infant mortality isn't uncommon for the small monkeys, which weigh only around 2 ounces at birth and grow to be about the size of a squirrel. Even short falls can be fatal for tiny newborns, zoo officials said.
The zoo says the remaining infant appears to be doing well, officials said.
Golden lion tamarins are native to Brazil's Atlantic coastal rainforests. The wild golden lion tamarin population stood at just 250 in the mid-1980s. It now numbers more than 1,600 after a network of zoos successfully reintroduced captive-born tamarins to the wild.