I was born in the zodiac year of monkey and from young, i have always felt a great affinity towards primates in general although i never had a close encounter with any of them.
Until my recent visit to the Squirrel Monkey forest at River Safari; this visit granted us ample opportunities to get really close to these small animals native to Central and South America!
Many a time, such enclosures tried to emulate the natural surroundings of the animals and this often create problems of them hiding in camouflage or too far out for us to take a better look!
It shall not be an issue here as these adorable squirrel monkeys were generally quite curious!
Their smallness does contribute to a certain level of cuteness; so much so that i would be really interested to keep them as pets especially when a weight of a typical squirrel monkey is not more than 1.1 kilogram! No more sore arms!
They were also said to be incredibly intelligent, blessed with the "heaviest brain in proportion to body mass" among primates! That means easier to toilet train; a major pet peeve for any pet owner.
Nevertheless, i still think they are better off in the wild. You may call me anthropomorphic but to be caged up for the rest of my life does seem stressful and boring!
It was, however, still a heart tugging moment when a squirrel monkey held on to my finger! My very first time touching a primate (i believe so)! For that few seconds, i was like the happiest person in the safari!
Next moment i knew, it jumped onto my dad! Darn creature was using me a "stepping stone"! Do i look like a boulder / branch to you?!?!?! %$#$%@$%@#
Dad was of course delighted to have two monkeys clamouring for his attention! It did appear they were more engrossed with his graying crown.
I didn't have the heart to tell my father that the squirrel monkeys have the tendency to wipe their body and tail with urine in order to mark their territory... Oh well, sometimes in life, it's better not to know too much!
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Location
Price
Free so long you have purchased a ticket for River Safari.
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