Baby Hamadryas baboon makes debut at Prospect Park Zoo

NEW YORK -- There's a new face at Brooklyn's Prospect Park Zoo.

The Wildlife Conservation Society says a male infant Hamadryas baboon is now on view to the public. The baboon was born on Oct. 22. His mother is Kaia and his father is Bole.

The society says this is 12-year-old Kaia's second birth at the zoo.

Hamadryas baboons are found in the Arabian peninsula and northeastern Africa. They live in troops usually made up of one male and numerous females.

They are highly social and spend much of their time grooming one another, a behavior that maintains and reinforces social bonds within the troop.

The zoo breeds the baboons as part of the Species Survival Plan, a program administered by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Two baboons born at the zoo last year have been sent to another facility and will start their own troop.

The Wildlife Conservation Society's Prospect Park Zoo - $8 for adults, $6 for seniors 65 and older, $5 for kids 3-12, free for children under 3. Zoo hours are 10 A.M. to 5 P.M. weekdays, and to 5:30 P.M. on weekends and holidays, April through October. 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. November through March. The Prospect Park Zoo is located at 450 Flatbush Avenue in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. For further information, call 718-399-7339 or visit www.prospectparkzoo.com.