May 23, 2011
Abandoned at birth by her mother Sunshine, a baby spider monkey named Estela turned to her grandmother Sonja and Primate Supervisor Jess McKelson to spend her life at Melbourne Zoo.
With her cute face, it is hard to believe how tiny spider monkey Estela was abandoned by her own mother.
Luckily, poor Estela was put in instensive care to make sure she could survive, and this was a big challenge for Primate Department keepers. Members of the zoo's team worked around the clock to pull her through.
Estela was born on January 17, 2011. However, she was rejected by her own mother Sunshine because of a difficult delivery (as cited at
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au).
In Spanish, Estela means "star". The term originally comes from Latin language and can be used for female baby in both Spanish and English speaking countries (as cited at http://babynamesworld.parentsconnect.com).
Ms. McKelson and her team hoped that Estela's grandmother Sonja would be able to take the mothering role to help the newborn spider monkey survive.
Estela was receiving six feeds of formula a day and was slowly being introduced to solid foods, according to AFP.
Spider monkeys are native to Central America. They are also found in South America -- from southern Mexico to Brazil, according to wikipedia website.
Spider monkeys were the most intelligent New World monkeys. They can produce various sounds and will bark when threatened. New World monkeys refer to the five families of primates found in Central and South America.
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