The little monkey named Gomez – in honour of his species’ Colombian heritage – is being transferred to Brisbane’s tropical heat from the snowy confines of Denmark’s Aalborg Zoo.
The four year old tamarin has spent all of its life up until this point in Denmark and as a result Alma Park staff have been putting together a few choice phrases to help the monkey settle.
“’Goht abe’ basically means good ape, or good monkey,” said zoo curator Heather Hesterman.
“He would’ve heard that all the time in Denmark, so it’s just a bit of familiarity for him.”
Dr Hesterman said the language lessons would extend to French within the next few weeks, as Gomez’s intended mate is in quarantine in Brisbane.
“She’s from France, so we’ll have to put snails on the menu for her,” joked Dr Hesterman.
“We’ve been privileged to get the monkeys as part of the European Endangered Species Program,” she said.
They were named “Emperor” in honour of Kaiser Wilhelm, Germany’s moustachioed leader during World War I, and Dr Hesterman said the incoming female would probably have a bigger moustache than Gomez.
“If they have babies, they’ll all be born with moustaches too, it’s very cute.”
The only thing cuter than a little monkey is a little monkey with a moustache. That’s a fact!
