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[Josh Greenman <joshg1973 AT yahoo.com>]

Monkey glee, monkey new

By Jason Sheehan, Rocky Mountain News
August 2, 2002

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_1301848,00.html

For a face only a mother can love, hundreds of people packed the 
Denver Zoo on Thursday to catch their first glimpse of Tuki, a 
3-month-old mandrill in the Congo Basin exhibit, which opened 
Thursday.

"She was having a ball," said zoo spokeswoman Angela Baier about the 
first mandrill to be born at the zoo in 15 years.

"She is full of spunk. She's getting more and more adventurous, and 
she's really enjoying the children."

While a new $3.1 million Congo Basin is made up of three spacious 
habitats, Baier said the true stars of the exhibit are the three 
playful monkeys. "They love the crowds," Baier said. "The mandrills 
come right up to the glass and stick their hands on it. They're 
literally nose to nose."

But it is a 15-year-old male named DJ that is stealing the show, 
Baier said. After years of avoiding crowds, DJ has warmed to his new 
home.

"He was just staring at two little kids in a stroller," Baier said 
Thursday. "He seemed to be enjoying himself just as much as they 
were."

To celebrate the opening of Congo Basin and the completion of Primate 
Panorama, families can enjoy weekend activities at Celebrate Africa.

Every weekend through Labor Day, Congo Basin will be filled with the 
sounds of the Heritage African Dance and Drum group and storytelling 
by Santemu Aakhuu.

The Congo Basin is an addition to the 6-year-old Primate Panorama. It 
is expected to be quite lush when the plant materials mature. Many of 
the animals had to be removed when their previous home was destroyed 
for a new parking lot at the zoo. Other elements of the new exhibit 
include enhancements to the Shamba area to give it more of a "lived- 
in" look.

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