Nashville Zoo welcomes baby Mexican spider monkey

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — The Nashville Zoo has welcomed the newest member of their family, a baby Mexican spider monkey.

This marks the zoo's first-ever Mexican spider monkey birth. The baby was born to mom Molly and dad Sandy, bringing the total number of spider monkeys at the zoo to five. Caregivers say Molly and her baby are heathy and calm.

"Molly has been a great mom so far. She is calm, nurturing and gives the baby plenty of time to nurse," Nashville Zoo's Primate Supervisor Brittany Canfield said. "Each member occasionally gets to groom the baby too."

The animals can be seen at their "Spider Monkey: Treetop Passage" habitat which opened in 2017. The current plan is for the baby to stay at Nashville Zoo in hopes of growing the numbers of this spider monkey family.

Spider monkeys are an arboreal species adapted to living primarily in the trees. Their hook-like hands allow them to easily swing, leap, grasp and hang from branches. Spider monkey's prehensile tail functions as a fifth limb because it aids in climbing and can support the monkey's full body weight.

Mexican spider monkeys are native to the rainforests of Central America and are listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature because of aggressive habitat loss and destruction.

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