Image: The Zoo/RTÉ

THE NEW SERIES of The Zoo, the documentary show set in Dublin Zoo, begins airing tonight at 7pm with a very special main star – a young white-crowned mangabey called Kasi.

The endangered West African monkey was born at the Zoo to a young and inexperienced mother, who left the young primate vulnerable to other, older mangabeys in the troop.

After observing the young mangabey with her new arrival, zoo staff decided it would be best on this occasion to hand-rear the newborn until she was old enough and strong enough to be reintroduced to the long-limbed troop:

The first episode of this series of The Zoo follows zookeeper Helen as she takes Kasi home for hand-rearing, which was a time consuming task as the young monkey had to be fed every four hours as well as given lots of playtime and interaction.

“I’d forgotten how tiring it is to have a baby at home, but also how great it is,” Helen said. “To have something so dependent on you is a big responsibility and to see the progress she’s been making too, the whole experience has been very rewarding.”

Kasi is also spending time in an area beside the mangabey troop’s enclosure in order to help them familiarise with her.

Dublin Zoo is just one of 12 European zoos which are participating in a mangabey breeding programme.

The Zoo airs on RTÉ One at 7pm tonight.



(Video via zootvseries)

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