Perth Zoo’s Squirrel Monkey family has increased with the addition of two cheeky young males. The four-and-a-half month old rambunctious baby boys have been named ‘Sai’ and ‘Rio’ by Perth Zoo’s keeping staff.  ‘Sai’ means monkey in Tupi language which is an endemic language from South America and ‘Rio’ means river and is a common name in Bolivia.

Sai and Rio are very curious and have started to venture out on their own. Being boisterous young boys, Sai and Rio enjoy playing with each other and can often be seen tumbling and leaping from branch to branch together. 

The boys are already quite cheeky and are starting to take food from zoo keepers or will lean into the keepers when they walk by to invite staff to play. Though, they’re still just babies at heart,  and will go back to their mums or aunties if they need a little confidence boosting cuddle. 

In the wild, Bolivian Squirrel Monkeys are most at risk from habitat loss due to logging for the timber industry, land clearing for agriculture and the illegal pet trade. 

If you want to check out these two cuties, be sure to head to the Primate Trail the next time you are at Perth Zoo. 

Planning a trip to the Zoo? Pre-purchase your ticket online.