Joy as zoo gets new addition

Fife Zoo has welcomed its first baby animal – in the form of a De Brazza’s monkey. The youngster is the first surviving new arrival at the Ladybank attraction since it opened in 2019.

It is a welcome boost for the zoo, which has faced two fires and a pandemic forced closure since opening.

Zoo director Briony Taylor is delighted to welcome the new addition.

She said: “Our new De Brazza’s monkey is our first that has been successfully bred in captivity.

“These monkeys are really important to the breeding programme.

“We don’t know the sex of the baby yet, as dad is really protective of mum and the baby and we don’t want to stress them out.”

The new baby monkey was born to mum Nuts and dad Dusty, but does not yet have a name.

“The pair had a baby last year, but we think they were stillborn,” said Briony.

“The new baby has been amazing and feeding well. They’re quite big and look happy. The vets visited the other day and they were happy too.

“They seem super strong, always hanging off mum.”

Briony says Nuts seemed to be pregnant for a long time, which increased the excitement by the time the birth came around.

“It’s always exciting having babies and watching them change,” she added.

“The baby has completely different colours compared to mum and dad – they’re an orangey-yellow right now, but obviously that will change as they get older.”

The family are currently the only De Brazza’s monkeys at the small Ladybank enclosure.

Fife Zoo faced its second blaze in a year over the summer, with valuable tools, vehicles and a living space destroyed in the fire.

Fortunately, no animals or people were hurt in either blaze.

Owners also appealed for help from the public after the second fire.

“The new baby has been amazing and feeding well

WARM WELCOME: Mum Nuts shows off her new, as yet unnamed, baby.