The Official Houston Zoo Blog

Recently I had the pleasure of filming our families of red-tailed guenons and swamp monkeys and interviewing one of their caring and dedicated keepers. Alissa Fuhrman told me all about this swinging crew, everything from the veggies they love (tomatoes, but just the flesh, not the skin!) to the mischief they get into and the extended games of tag they play across their habitat.

It’s far too easy to walk right past these guys’ habitat in Wortham World of Primates, especially on a visit when the siamangs are calling you to come and see them at jet engine volume just around the bend. Now that I know a bit more about who they are, I can appreciate them so much more, and I look forward to the next time I can stop by and see what they’re up to.

I hope you enjoy this video as much as I enjoyed putting it together for you!

This video features our adult male Allen’s Swamp Monkey, Naku, and our sixteen month old Schmidt’s Red-Tailed Guenon, Matani.  They have recently started playing with one another, despite the fact that they are two different species and that Naku is the dominant animal in the exhibit and prefers to spend most of his time playing in his pool.  Naku and Matani began interacting by chasing each other around the exhibit, much like Naku and Kabili, Matani’s father, do on occasion.  In this video they are on a suspended platform which is attached to the cage mesh by rubber hoses, making it somewhat challenging for the more terrestrial Swamp Monkey.  Despite how intense these interactions may appear, they are all part of normal play behavior between a younger and older primate.  The other animals in the exhibit watch from a distance to ensure Matani’s safety.  Our Allen’s Swamp Monkeys and Schmidt’s Red-Tailed Guenons share an exhibit and both Matani and Naku can be seen playing daily in Wortham World of Primates.

Video taken by Elliott Rosenthal, Houston Zoo Primate Zoo Keeper

Allen's Swamp Monkey