Will you be primate? Rare monkey is raised by zookeepers after suffering the heartbreak of being rejected by its mother

By LEON WATSON



Keeper Susann Paelecke feeds the mona monkey baby in the zoo in Magdeburg, eastern Germany



This super-cute baby monkey is being hand-reared in a zoo after she suffered the heartache of being abandoned by her mother.

The little brown tree-climber is of the mona breed and was born premature before being presented to the public today at Magdeburg Zoo in eastern Germany.

She came into the world on December 10 weighing just 296 grams and got rejected shortly afterwards.



The nine-day-old monkey, which is being hand-reared, weighs just 296 grams and hasn't been named yet



But she is currently being cared for round-the-clock with help from zookeeper Paelecke Susann.

On Monday the little scamp was even given a little nappy made specially for premature monkeys.



In the wild, the monkeys live mainly in western African forests in groups of eight to 35, typically with just one male and numerous females



The monkey's mother is aged 17 - a ripe old age for mona monkeys - and can't produce milk anymore, which is why keepers think she rejected the child.

The endangered primates are usually found in the forests of Africa from Ghana to Cameroon and live until they are around 22-years-old.



Super-cute: The infant was born prematurely on December 10, and is all alone in the world except for her keeper



However, there is also an introduced population on Grenada in the Caribbean that came to the island during the 18th Century.

The monkeys live in groups of eight to 35, typically with just one male and numerous females. Little is known about their reproductive biology.





In her nappy: The wide-eyed primate feeds from a bottle while holding onto the hands of her keeper



source: dailymail