Welcome Peru, a healthy baby squirrel monkey born on June 6, 1999. He is the second offspring to proud parents, Poppy and Pogo. Peru weighed only 3.5 ounces at birth. He will spend the first few weeks of life clinging to Poppy's back and will become independent at 1 year. He will then eat a variety of nuts, berries, insects, arachnids, flowers and seeds with the four other individuals living in the enclosure.
Squirrel monkeys are arboreal and live in virgin and secondary forests of northern South America.
They associate in bands of 12 to 100 individuals. The groups are subdivided into adult male bands, mother-infant bands and juvenile bands. Adult females and their young form the core of the group. Adult males intermingle with the females only during mating season. Females bear only one offspring after 6 months of gestation.