Endangered spider monkey and panda arrive at zoo

Two new animals have arrived at Paignton Zoo as part of a conservation breeding programme.

A female red panda, an endangered species, and a female brown spider monkey, a critically endangered species, have been transported from zoos in France to the Devon site.

Brown spider monkeys were added to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List in 2020 because their populations in Columbia and Venezuela were declining due to the pet trade and habitat destruction.

The IUCN said it believed there were fewer than 10,000 mature red pandas in the wild after their habitats in China had been destroyed.

The panda will join a female called Ember while the spider monkey will join a troop consisting of females Luna and Lena and male Kikou.

Zookeepers said the monkey would initially remain off-show to visitors while the primates were introduced.

Mammal keeper at Paignton Zoo James Shora said: "The red pandas offer those quieter, more contemplative moments, while the spider monkeys bring incredible dynamic energy from the forest canopies of South America.

"It's like having two completely different worlds side by side."

The red panda came from Les Terres de Natae, Pont-Scorff and the brown spider monkey from Zoo Amiens Métropole.

Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].