Tails are twining at Lincoln Park Zoo. Tacama, a 14-year-old female Bolivian gray titi monkey, has joined Ocho, the zoo’s longtime 14-year-old male resident, at the Helen Brach Primate House — and the two have already hit it off.
Their care team has observed the hallmark sign of bonding for this species: tail twining, when two monkeys sit beside each other and wrap their remarkably long tails together to reinforce social bonds, much like humans holding hands. “We’re excited to see such remarkable compatibilities between Ocho and Tacama,” said curator Dani Fogarty. “The two hit it off almost immediately upon introduction and they continue to choose to spend time together.”
Tacama arrived from another accredited zoo through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, and the pair has a breeding recommendation through the Bolivian Gray Titi Monkey Species Survival Plan, the collaborative program that keeps zoo populations healthy and genetically diverse.
In the wild, these monkeys inhabit humid forests and swamps in the southern Amazon River basin, rarely coming down to the forest floor, and fathers help carry the babies. In Chicago, you can visit the new pair this fall at the Primate House — admission to Lincoln Park Zoo is free.
Photo: Ramon and Suzanne Vargas / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
