World News for Students of English

08-08-2014 07:00

London Zoo has welcomed its newest and tiniest arrival, and if you look hard enough you might just be able to see it.

This adorable minuscule monkey has been spotted snoozing in the summer heat wave.

The black-cap squirrel monkey baby was born in the middle of the night just under three weeks ago, with zookeepers discovering the tiny bundle clinging tightly on to its mum during their morning rounds.

The little thing, which currently measures just three inches tall (7.6 centimetres), was born after a six-month gestation period in the zoo’s Meet the Monkeys exhibit, where there are no barriers between visitors and the animals.

The monkey baby hasn’t yet left the comfort of its mum’s back for zoo staff to tell if it’s a boy or girl, but it is said to be doing well.

Squirrel monkeys live in large troops and the zoo now has a group of 20 who are all enjoying fussing over the baby.

Difficult words: tiny (very small), minuscule (tiny), spot (see), snooze (to have a short, light sleep), heat wave (a time when the weather is very hot), bundle (baby), cling (to hold something tightly), round (journey along a fixed route), gestation period (time when a mother has a baby inside), troop (group of animals of a particular kind), fuss (to care about something a little bit too much).

Source: www.itn.co.uk

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