Monkey business is serious business at the Magnetic Hill Zoo, where it’s just won the Thomas R. Baines award for Excellence in Habitat Design and Development for changes the zoo has made to the park, which includes its new squirrel monkey habitat, installed in late 2021.
“This construction included a beautiful new building for cooler temperatures for the animals, for the zookeepers to be able to manage them properly and make sure they take care of their welfare,” Magnetic Hill Zoo director Jill Marvin said in an interview on Thursday.
The new enclosure is attached to the pre-existing outdoor exhibit.
During the colder months, visitors can see the monkeys through a glass display while they stay warm.
Previously, they were moved to another building where visitors couldn’t see them for the winter.
“With this new building, the keepers, if it fits within the parameters of the animals they can let them go outside for the day. So we’ve really increased the amount of time that they can spend outdoors, which is great for their welfare, but it’s also great for our visitors,” Marvin said.
Zookeeper James Cann said the new building is a better fit for the social animals.
“They’re a group of six, they all have their own personalities and so this (enclosure) has three rooms inside, it has the large outdoor exhibit, so that allows us to move the animals where they need to be, where they want to be,” he said in an interview on Thursday.
“You get to know them and they do have different personalities. Some of them are more shy, some of them are outgoing, some of them are more dominant, some of them are more submissive to others in the group.”
Marvin said the zoo is currently seeking funding for the first phase of a project that would upgrade more animal habitats.
“Phase 1 includes redoing our area for our lions, for our meerkats, and our tortoise, and our servals. So that’s making great improvements for them, as well as the new growth for the penguin exhibit and our lemurs as well,” she said.