SANTA ANA : New at the Zoo: 3 Baby Macaques

The Santa Ana Zoo has a new addition to its collection of moneys: three baby Celebes crested macaques, born within seven days of each other.

But visitors at the zoo Sunday could get only a glimpse of the new arrivals, who nestled close to their three mothers throughout much of the day.

“They were much more active this morning when it wasn’t quite so warm,” explained animal keeper Shandra Foster, who keeps a watchful eye on the monkeys two days a week.

Zoo Director Claudia Collier said the baby monkeys will become more lively after they are weaned and able to play with each other.

The babies were born last month after a gestation period of about five months, and each weighed between one and two pounds. But zoo officials haven’t determined their sex.

“It’s really hard to tell which sex they are when they are this young because they stay so close to the mothers,” Collier said. “Anyway, at this point, it really isn’t very important.”

The monkeys were fathered by a 30-pound male who was imported from the National Zoo in Washington last year. The male is the dominant animal of the group. His role is to protect the females and infants from predators and to keep internal quarrels to a minimum, Collier said.

“The male is clearly in charge of the group,” Collier said. “If there is a squabble, all he has to do is look and they will stop.”

The monkeys live in a 25-by-30-foot caged area, and their diet includes raw broccoli, carrots, spinach, apples, bananas, sunflower seeds, peanuts and Monkey Chow, a specially formulated biscuit.

Celebes crested macaques originated on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. There are seven species of macaques, which can be found living in forests throughout Asia, Africa and Europe. The monkeys have short tails and are often misidentified as black apes. They live an average of 25 to 30 years, Collier said.

The baby monkeys will remain as part of the monkey exhibit for at least another year before they are separated from their mothers to prevent inbreeding. Collier said they will probably be either displayed in a separate exhibit or sold to another zoo.