Jaunted

· On the East Coast, the National Zoo recently welcomed a baby black howler monkey. Born to first-time parents Chula and Pele, the monkey is the first surviving howler monkey birth in the zoo's history. The picture at the top of this post are of mom and baby. Says the Zoo's Flickr feed, "The pair has exhibited strong parental skills and the young primate seems bright, alert, and increases its activity and independence day by day." Says NBC's Washington affiliate "Baby Howler Monkey Far Cuter Than Expected." ·

Nearby at the Maryland Zoo, they recently had a black-and-white Colobus Monkey birth. This baby is also a first for its parents, Keri and Bisi. The family, along with a fourth Colobus Monkey - so in total two adult females, one adult male, and the baby - are all on display inside the zoo's Chimpanzee Forest.

· Speaking of chimpanzees, the Los Angeles Zoo—which has been abuzz with new reptile buildings and new baby tigers—just put their newest baby chimp on exhibit late last month. The little girl was born on March 6 and has now joined the other 15 chimps in the zoo's gigantic exhibit. And while it's technically true that chimpanzees are apes not monkeys, we're giving you links, information, and a video on a tiny little chimp hanging on to her mother. So no complaints.

· Finally, it's clear that the folks who put together the Santa Ana Zoo website know how to fund raise (they don't know how to create a website that doesn't have insanely obnoxious 1999-era autoplayed music, but they do know how to fundraise). The middle of the landing page, right below the main slider, has a donation banner that literally reads in all capital letters "HELP THE BABY ANIMALS". Simple and effective. The zoo has had all kinds of monkey births recently, including a rare crested capuchin monkey last month, a golden-headed lion tamarins in April, and two baby silvery langurs born in February and January.

Maryland Zoo:

Los Angeles Zoo:

Santa Ana Zoo:

[Photo: Smithsonian's National Zoo]