‘The little baby is doing really, really well. It’s nice and active and already crawling over mum’
The new baby red howler monkey with mum Tila
Staff at Yorkshire Wildlife Park have been celebrating the latest new arrival – a new baby red howler monkey. The youngster – which has yet to be named – was born on September 12 to parents Tila and Geronimo.
And it is already keeping its family busy, climbing over mum and its five older siblings. The new baby comes a year after the howlers’ most recent monkey, with the eldest daughter Pabla born in 2021, followed by three sons in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
Pabla has already been spotted helping her mum care for the latest arrival, allowing the baby to climb onto her while Tila takes a break.
Senior Primate Ranger Tasha said: “We’re very lucky to have another red howler baby born to our group, bringing us to seven in total. The little baby is doing really, really well. It’s nice and active and already crawling over mum and the siblings as well.”
The Park is home to Venezuelan red howler monkeys and is currently the only place in England which houses them. Native to the western Amazon, the monkeys face habitat destruction as trees continue to be cleared across the region.
Tasha said: “They’re not the most endangered species, but that doesn’t mean they’re not threatened out in the wild. Sadly, out in the Amazon, lots of trees have been felled and there’s lots of habitat destruction, so protecting the species is incredibly important.”
The sex of the newborn is not yet known, with rangers hoping to find out in the coming months before choosing a name.
Tasha said: “As it’s early days, we’re unsure of its sex, but hopefully it won’t be too long before we can find out and give it a name.”
Red howler monkeys are famed for their powerful calls, which can be heard over long distances through the forest – sometimes as far away as three miles.
The Yorkshire Wildlife Park family are out and about in their reserve and are most active earlier in the morning and then later in the afternoon, where visitors will be able to get a good view of the new arrival.
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