Handlers help raise half-sister patas monkeys born weeks apart at an upstate New York zoo

A zoo in Syracuse, New York, has welcomed two baby patas monkeys born weeks apart. The Rosamond Gifford Zoo said Thursday that the monkey babies are being raised by keepers because their mothers showed a lack of maternal instinct. The wide-eyed, big-eared babies, which were born in April and May, were fathered by the patas troop leader, Mac, making them half-sisters. The zoo says the survival rate for patas monkeys is relatively low in the wild because young mothers often can’t or won’t raise their young. Knowing this, handlers were on the lookout for signs the new mothers needed help and stepped in.