Paphos Zoo is celebrating the arrival of a baby Mandrill monkey born in October.

The Zoo has named the primate, Romeo. The Zoo’s staff are not yet sure of the primate’s sex however they have said that indications so far point to it being a boy.

Romeo is still firmly attached to its mother and the Zoo has said that the parents are doing a great job looking after their offspring.  Romeo is the fourth baby for them.

Romeo’s mother, Eva is an older parent at the age of 16.  Eva has a life expectancy of 27 to 30 years old in captivity.  Dad, Max is 14 years old and as a dominant male is around 37 kilos.

Living in the enclosure is also Mo. Mo was born last year and is gaining his independence and is not so attached to his mother.  The Zoo said that the group are working well.

Mandrills are omnivores and have a large appetite. They eat a diet consisting mostly of fruits and insects.

The group is being fed both local and imported fruit and a huge amount of insects that are bred in the Zoo’s own insect house, especially to feed animals at the facility.

Mandrills have also been known to eat eggs and small rodents in the wild.