Monkeying around all part of the job
http://www.3news.co.nz/Monkeying-around-all-part-of-the-job/tabid/423/articleID/322947/Default.aspx
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As a general reporter
for a national news organisation you have to dress in preparation for
almost any situation – court, Parliament, weather chasing - anything.
But
yesterday I found myself in an environment I could not have anticipated
– the Bolivian squirrel monkey enclosure at Wellington Zoo.
The zoo has experienced a bit of a baby boom with the birth of at least three different kinds of animals in the past few weeks.
Three-week-old
baby Bolivian squirrel monkeys, three South American agouti babies and
two meerkat pups are among the throng of newborns frolicking in their
enclosures. A pygmy marmoset was also born a few months ago, and
zookeepers have their suspicions about other animals which may be
pregnant.
Dressed in brown leather shoes,
pinstriped pants and an overly large 3 News rain jacket I, along with
our cameraman Hans, come prepared to take photos and video from outside
the enclosures where the public normally see these exotic animals.
Noting the drizzling rain, zoo staff warn us our chances of getting these animals from out of their warm shelters could be slim.
But we're in luck – in more
ways than one. Senior primate keeper Harmony Wallace brings out the
keys to the enclosure and lets us get closer to these curious primates
than the paying public can.
The group of 24
squirrel monkeys are tucked up inside their shelters, but like most
animals, the offer of food is enough to entice them outside.
Most
of them rush to the ground foraging for their currant treats, but you
also have to keep an eye to the branches above for the more adventurous
monkeys. I learned that the hard way.
Busy looking through my camera lens, I feel a sudden weight land on my right shoulder. My head turns slowly. It's a monkey.
To
them, we're just another obstacle to jump on and explore. One crawls
down my arm and starts gnawing on the Velcro at the end of my sleeve.
Another few want to try their hands at operating Hans' camera. Others
use us as a launching pad to get to another branch.
Harmony
says the group are remarkably well-behaved by their standards.
Apparently on a sunny day she can't spend nearly as long as we have been
in their enclosure without them getting their little monkey paws onto
any loose items.
Once the group has finished
foraging for food and head back inside to dry off, we decide it's time
to leave. But not before checking our pockets – Wallet? Check. Phone?
Check. Keys? Check.
3 News
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