Long Island Game Farm in Manorville adds new squirrel monkey enclosure
Squirrel monkeys are the newest addition to the Long Island Game Farm in Manorville. Credit: Steve Biegler
The newest residents at the Long Island Game Farm in Manorville are likely to entertain guests by swinging on vines.
Three squirrel monkeys — Leo, Gilbert and Bonnie — have been introduced to the general public for the first time and, included with admission, guests can see them during their next visit.
“Gilbert is a big ham. He’ll start swinging from vine to vine if he sees people watching,” says zookeeper Chela Novak. “He sits on my shoulder all day when I’m in there.”
The Game Farm was looking to add a new species this year, says owner Melinda Novak, who is also Chela’s mother. “A long time ago, we used to have squirrel monkeys,” the elder Novak says. “They’re very active, so the public gets to see them play all day.”
Leo and Gilbert both were born at Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville, New York,, Chela says. The Game Farm acquired them in October, and they grew up indoors at the farm over the winter; visitors who took the Game Farm’s VIP tours got to see them inside. “When it got to about 65 degrees at night we took them outside,” Chela says.
Chela describes Leo and Gilbert as “little toddlers” who love to swing in the hammocks in their enclosure, and she says that Bonnie, who is about 6 years old, plays the mothering role. The Game Farm also got Bonnie from Animal Adventure Park because she wasn’t fitting in well with the other monkeys there. “Since she’s older than our boys, she’s kind of in charge of them,” Chela says.
Chela named the monkeys after characters and a star from her favorite movie “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.” Gilbert was a key character of the 1993 film; Bonnie was his mother. As for Leo, he’s named for Leonardo DiCaprio, who played a character named Arnie. “I didn’t like the name Arnie for a monkey,” Chela says — so she picked Leo instead.
The monkeys eat fruits, vegetables and special monkey biscuits packed with nutrients. “Their absolute favorite is grapes or cucumbers,” Chela says. They make little chirping sounds, she adds. “They also make a little screech if they’re hungry or see something alarming. They have an irritated one if I’m late with their food.”
Long Island Game Farm, 489 Chapman Blvd., Manorville, 631-878-6644, longislandgamefarm.com. Open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, weather permitting, through Labor Day weekend; $26.95 per adult, $19.95 per child 3 to 12, younger than 3 is free.
Beth Whitehouse writes about families, parenting and great things to do with the kids on Long Island. She’s been a Newsday editor and shared a 1997 Newsday staff Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the crash of TWA Flight 800.
