Meet Mr. Wiggles -- One of the sweetest monkeys at Popcorn Park and very photogenic! Provided here are just a few photos of a day in the life (or week) of Mr. Wiggles, a squirrel monkey rescued by Popcorn Park about 15 years ago. He'd been running loose in a north Jersey town, having escaped from his cage. As it turned out, he was illegally owned, and as the person he belonged to had no permit, he was surrendered to the zoo.
This photo, with Mr. Wiggles resting on our Zoo General Manager's hand, gives you an idea of just how small Mr. Wiggles really is!
Popcorn Park General Manager, John Bergmann, counts Mr. Wiggles as one of his best friends at the zoo, and can arrange the location of his housing seasonally so he enjoys the most activity and entertainment possible.
Says Mr. Wiggles, `Is somebody starting mornings earlier lately?'
As soon as the weather becomes warm and all summer long, Mr. Wiggles stays in the primate house so he can enjoy the constant activity of visitors. As it becomes cold, he's brought into the elephant barn, (so named because it was the home of our elephant Sonny), where John has his winter office, and where there's lots more going on. So when it's cold and attendance in the zoo is down, Mr. Wiggles' receiving attention goes up!
Mr. Wiggles enjoys a varied diet including monkey chow, hard boiled eggs, and fruits, but his favorite is served up once or twice a week on Pasta Night! He just loves pasta, as you can see from the photos, and knows exactly where it's kept. When he's let out of his cage for it to be cleaned, Mr. Wiggles runs right to the refrigerator and tries to open it.
Because of their intelligence, it's important to keep the monkeys occupied, so at Popcorn Park they have various acitivites to keep them busy. Each monkey has his or her own TV plus a different video every day, and then every couple weeks they have Birthday Present Day. They all get trail mix wrapped in brightly colored wrapping paper, and enjoy opening their gifts and sorting through their goodies. Here you see Mr. Wiggles opening one of his presents.
Of course, Mr. Wiggles is available for sponsorship on the Wildlife Club, and he is always pleased to know that he has new sponsors. If you find him as endearing as we do -- why not help care for him and