PHILADELPHIA — It's baby season at the Philadelphia Zoo!
The zoo proudly announced the birth of Eros, a white-handed gibbon, who's part of an endangered ape species native to Southeast Asia.
The Philadelphia Zoo's team says the baby boy, born just before the keeper staff arrived on Thursday, March 14, is healthy and continues to nurse from his mom, who's demonstrating all the right behaviors when caring for him.
Baby Eros joins the family of 35-year-old mom Phoenice and 34-year-old dad Mercury. He will also join his siblings 5-year-old Polaris and 2-year-old Ophelia.
Eros's birth is part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Species Survival Plan (SSP) breeding program to ensure the survival of the species and maintain a genetically diverse population.
“Mom and dad have proven to be great parents over the years, and we can’t wait until the baby is a little older and our guests can watch him playing with big brother and sister," said Michael Stern, the Andrew J. Baker curator of primates and small mammals.
White-handed gibbons are found in Southeast Asia in countries including China and Thailand and are considered to be one of the most acrobatic animals on the planet, according to the Philadelphia Zoo. They move through the trees by brachiation: swinging hand over hand with the body suspended below.
When on the ground, they walk and run upright on their hind legs, with arms held high for balance.
Males and females can be either blonde or dark colored, which is determined by a hair color gene, not by sex.
White-handed gibbon babies are born after a 7-month gestation and cling to their mom’s abdomen for the first few months of life. They will remain dependent on their mom until they're weaned around two years old.
Gibbons are monogamous and often remain together for life.
