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And baby makes 16…The Minnesota Zoo is excited to announce the birth of an endangered snow monkey, adding one more to its popular exhibit. This is the fifth snow monkey born at the Zoo since 2004. Snow monkeys can only be seen at nine other accredited zoos in the United States.
Although its mother “Suzi” has been keeping it close, the infant, born April 26, is starting to become visible to the public. Although the gender of the baby is not yet known, it has been named “Tama” (the Japanese translation for “ball”) after it was born during the Zoo’s annual black-tie fundraiser, the Beastly Ball. “This is an exciting time for the Minnesota Zoo as this is the fifth successful birth to the troop since 1991,” said Tom Ness, Minnesota Zoo Tropics Trail Supervisor. Since its birth, Tama has been on exhibit with youngsters “Higgins,” age 3; “Shinta” and Yuki,” age 2; and “Neesan,” age 1.
In 2008, the Minnesota Zoo will begin supporting field research (in situ) on snow monkeys at the Primate Research Institute at Kyoto University in Japan.
Also called Japanese macaques, snow monkeys are medium-sized primates recognized by their reddish-colored faces, whiskers/beards, and long, dense brown fur. They originate from Japan, including Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu, and Takeshima Islands. Snow monkeys live in troops ranging from 25 to over 500 individuals, and spend their days both in trees and on the ground. They have a complex system of communication including more than 30 vocal sounds and a wide range of facial and body expressions. They eat fruit, roots, leaves, insects, crops such as rice, maize and potatoes. 
After a gestation period of 170-180 days, snow monkeys give birth–almost always to a single infant–between April and July. Although infants are a great source of interest to other females in the group, mothers do not allow other monkeys to pick up their infants for several weeks after birth. Research has revealed that this species has highly complex social structures and excellent learning abilities. Individuals have been known to participate in interesting behavior patterns, like washing the dirt off sweet potatoes, which are learned in time by other members of the troop.
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