New spider monkey arrives at Milwaukee County Zoo and is reunited with her companion

Topaz, a 31-year-old female black-handed spider monkey, is the newest resident of the Primates of the World building at the Milwaukee County Zoo.

Topaz — who arrived in Milwaukee from the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans on Nov. 15, 2023 — is now sharing habitat space with her male companion, 27-year-old HueHue. The two monkeys already have a history together, having been companions at the Audubon Zoo until 2019.

According to a statement from the Milwaukee zoo, keepers said the pair are "old friends again."

The two monkeys can be distinguished from each other by the differences in body color: Topaz is dark, and HueHue is silver and blond. They rotate indoor habitat space with the zoo's other black-handed spider monkey pair, MoMo and Chimal, and will do the same in the outdoor habitat once the weather warms up.

Black-handed spider monkeys are considered endangered and are native to southern Mexico and Central America.