The life story of a cub named Ben

At the end of summer, namely on August 19, a cub was born to the couple Mira and Po in the Guianan squirrel monkey family (Saimiri sciureus). Later, it turned out that the female, unfortunately, was not lactating.

Usually, cubs are born with some fat reserves that they accumulate while growing in the mother's womb, so the cub's body can use it to survive for a while.

Zoo employees noticed that the baby does not stay on the mother's chest for a long time, and also saw that the female lays the cub down and runs around it. Such behavior is not characteristic of a nursing mother. It was decided to take the cub from the female, catch her and check if she has milk. The suspicion was confirmed – there was no lactation in the female, so the baby was taken for artificial feeding.

During the examination, it turned out that the baby was born healthy. Zoo workers feed the baby every two hours. The baby has a good appetite, is very active, carefully studies the surrounding world and sings songs like a little bird. Four "foster mothers" – employees of the Primate department – take turns taking care of him.

The youngling was named Ben, after the little elf Ben from the famous British cartoon series "Ben and Holly's Little Kingdom", because he is very similar to the fairy-tale elf with his small ears, which have a point at the end.

The employees of Mykolaiv Zoo hope for a happy future for our little Ben.