Hamilton Zoo welcomes several new furry faces

The arrival of a male serval at Hamilton Zoo this week adds to a growing number of new faces at the facility. The serval named Akida (meaning 'leader'), who will turn three years old on 14 December, arrived at the facility from Wellington Zoo on Wednesday.

Hamilton Zoo Director Stephen Standley said Akida's transfer is part of the managed breeding programme for the African wild cat species.

"We are excited to welcome Akida to Hamilton Zoo as it has been a number of years since we have housed servals here. In the future we could potentially look to acquire a female serval in the hopes that they will form a breeding pair," he said.

"Akida didn't appear to be fazed at all by his move and he is settling in well to his new home."

On 31 October, Hamilton Zoo celebrated the birth of three black and white ruffed lemur babies, born to mother Falon and father Lucky. The babies – one male named Ikala and two females named Setra and Masina – are currently being housed off display and it is anticipated that they will be moved into the rainforest exhibit in a few months time.

"The black and white ruffed lemur is hunted for its meat and fur, and deforestation has meant it has lost much of its habitat," said Mr Standley.

"Therefore our new trio is a great addition to our regional breeding programme for this critically endangered species."

Earlier this month, the zoo also welcomed the birth of a capuchin monkey baby. Born on 20 November, the baby was the second to be born to mother Jesse this year – with another offspring born at the start of 2009.

"Other members of the capuchin troop are also currently pregnant so we are expecting more babies to be born in the coming months," said Mr Standley.

"This comes less than a year after we experienced a capuchin monkey 'baby boom' where five offspring were born at Hamilton Zoo within a period of several months, so clearly our capuchin breeding programme is in good shape."