By TOSHIYUKI TAKEYA/ Staff Writer
November 18, 2016 at 10:10 JST
Editor's note: This is part of a series of videos offering an up-close perspective on the animal kingdom. A special 360-degree video camera system was set up in zoos and other facilities to show how the animals view their world as they interact.
Also visit our special 360-DEGREE LIVES page (http://t.asahi.com/360lives), where you can watch all the previous videos.
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As soon as we’d fixed up the tripod, Bolivian squirrel monkeys were climbing all over it, making it look like a Christmas tree decorated with simians.
There’s something special about this squirrel monkey colony in Uminonakamichi Seaside Park in Fukuoka. It’s the biggest in Japan.
About 110 of the monkeys hang out in a moated area of the zoo section of the state-run amusement park in Higashi Ward.
The squirrel monkeys may look timid, but they are inquisitive and mischievous. As soon as the camera was set up in their habitat, the curious and spirited simians snapped into action. A troop gathered around it, hopping on to the video camera and looking into the lens.
Zoo attendant Ryuhei Ano, 26, warned us to firmly fix the video camera because it could be snatched by the monkeys and dragged away if it was simply buried in the ground.
This year, 14 newborn Bolivian squirrel monkeys have been confirmed. Baby monkeys are seen clinging to their mothers until they are around 3 months old.
The monkeys like eating insects and make whistling sounds similar to birds chirping.
Each one weighs about 1 kilogram and grows to about 30 centimeters in length. They are not great swimmers.
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