There’s quite a bit of monkeying around in our Rainforest Revealed loop – but not amongst the area’s keeper team! This team of 11 cares for 100 individual animals like our jaguar Masaya, Baird’s tapir group, giant otters, and A LOT of primates.

This team excels at synchronized training, which is necessary for our larger primate groups like our black-handed spider monkeys, black howlers and capuchins, said area supervisor Michelle Johnston. The spider monkeys alone (a troop of 10!) take the full Rainforest team to train! As you might expect, an effective training session requires a lot of communication among the team.

This team is also strong when it comes to mass animal moves and habitat renovations! The beginning of this year alone saw quite a few of their animals in our L3 Harris Animal Care Centre for routine veterinary exams. All the animals who were scheduled has been seen – and we are only halfway through the year!

Our Rainforest keepers have also renovated entire habitats, including getting a space ready for our new capuchin girls’ arrivals as well as mass renovating the giant otter habitat, improving their well-being. They also successfully drew blood on two of our tapirs for the first time ever – a necessary part of their care.

These animal wellbeing “wins” are always nice to focus on with the muggy and buggy conditions in our Rainforest Revealed loop!

Brevard Zoo is an independent, not-for-profit organization that receives no recurring government funding for our operating costs. Your generous support enables us to continue to serve our community and continue our vital animal wellness, education and conservation programs.