Minnesota Zoo welcomes 3 baby snow monkeys
What royal baby? The Minnesota Zoo recently welcomed three — count 'em, three — baby snow monkeys that will make their public debuts just in time for Mother's Day this weekend.
The babies were born April 17, April 20 and May 1 to moms Yuki, Shumei and Yumoto.
"Each are staying close to their moms but are beginning to venture out on their own," the zoo said in a news release.
The babies' genders aren't yet known, outside of one male, and they have not yet been named. A zoo spokesperson said there isn't currently a plan for a naming contest and that monkeys are usually named by zookeeper staff.
The new additions join a "special group of 20 primates that is especially social," the zoo said.
Also called Japanese macaques, snow monkeys are considered a threatened species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. They are medium-sized and recognizable by their reddish faces, whiskers or beards and long, dense gray fur.
They originate from Japan and typically live in troops ranging from 10 to 200 individuals.
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