SALISBURY, Md.- The Salisbury Zoo announced Friday that it has acquired two young, male black-handed spider monkeys from the Omaha Zoo.
Both are 5-years old and are half-brothers. Their names are Dweasal and Rozindi. According to Salisbury Zoo spokesperson Mary M. Seeman, zoo staff are elated to have the monkeys back in the collection again. After the last member of the zoo’s troop passed away, keepers worked on renovating the exhibit. New mesh was put on the front of the exhibit as well as climbing structures, hammocks and swinging toys inside the habitat.
The Salisbury Zoo has been exhibiting black-handed spider monkeys since the early 1970s and has a long history with spider monkey conservation. Black-handed spider monkeys are threatened in the wild.
Black-handed spider monkeys are found in the tropical lowland rainforests from Mexico to South America. Spider monkeys live mostly in the upper to middle canopy of the forest. Using their prehensile tails they can travel through trees as fast as humans can run on ground.
