Installment #3
(Read Installment #2 here.)
On December 12, 2006, we brought Kinah down to the San Diego Zoo’s Ituri Forest for a visit. The Allen’s swamp monkey group was brought into the back bedrooms for the session. Each member of the troop filed down to check out the newcomer with calm interest. Marbelina’s reaction was very different, though, from the rest of the monkeys; she clearly remembered that this was her baby. With frustration, she tried repeatedly to reach through the partition and grab Kinah.

Hoping that Marbelina would eventually calm down, we visited a few more times during the next week, but the response was the same and keepers and curators became concerned. If Marbelina, the least dominant female in the group, continued or escalated this frantic behavior, it might well harm her fragile status within the monkey group. Kinah still needed frequent bottle feedings and would need to make daily trips to our nursery; would Marbelina calmly return her baby to us each time? Additionally, Marbelina had been seen breeding with the male; if she became pregnant again, how could she care for two youngsters so close in age? It would not be in Marbelina’s best interest to try to reintroduce Kinah to her.

We decided to let Kinah fill out a little and try again in a month. During this time we would concentrate on getting some weight on our little charge and examining our options for a social introduction with another animal in our collection. By mid-January, Kinah had improved enormously. Given her tiny size and poor condition when she arrived, we were somewhat concerned that she might display other deficits. Our fears were unfounded. Kinah’s size may have been small, but her accomplishments and abilities were not. She quickly learned to climb, then to hop, leap, and launch herself headlong from perch to perch. We gave her a larger, more challenging enclosure twice the size of the first and she fearlessly mastered the area within days. Kinah’s vocalizations became varied and she would have “something to say” about all the comings and goings in the nursery. She also became fascinated with water; true to her “swampy” natural habitat, Kinah was keen to wash her food and take short dips in her water bowl.

Supplying interesting enrichment items is part of caring for any primate in captivity. Kinah’s enrichment items were always anxiously awaited and enjoyed; she immediately recognized a novel item and had fun thoroughly investigating and manipulating it. Her fondest desire was to explore the nursery, looking in everything with great relish. Occasionally, Kinah found a Zoo visitor either fascinating or frightening, as the mood would strike her. Seldom have we ever seen a primate in the nursery with more personality.

Janet Hawes is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo.

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