Suzy’s fourth pregnancy resulted in the birth of a baby on May 31, 1966. The infant was considerably smaller than it should have been, and its eyes were shut tight. It was estimated that the little gibbon had been born one month prematurely. The chances for its survival were slim, and before zoo officials had time to decide if there was some way to help it, the baby died. It had lived only a few hours.
George Speidel began to think that perhaps Mark’s survival and good health had been a lucky accident. He wondered if she was the only child Unk and Suzy would ever raise. On May 22, 1967, yet another infant was born. Unlike the premature baby, this one seemed perfectly healthy and normal. Still, the two that died of pneumonia had been healthy at birth also.
A few people thought that the new baby should be removed from the siamang family and cared for by humans. This might have prevented death from pneumonia, but Mr. Speidel thought that the baby belonged with its family. Suzy was able to take care of an infant siamang better than any human foster mother.
A week passed. The baby seemed fine. A second week went by and the little siamang remained healthy. After three weeks with no problems, Mr. Speidel was sure the baby would live. Reporters were invited to see the new siamang, and a picture of the infant was printed on the front page of a Milwaukee newspaper. The baby was not named immediately because no one wanted to make the same mistake they had made in naming Mark. But after a few more weeks, when it was determined that the baby was a male, He was named Smitty, in honor of the photographer who snapped the front-page picture.
Mark was almost five years old when Smitty was born, and the interest she showed in the new baby seemed as much motherly as sisterly. Her little brother appeared to fascinate her. She constantly tried to touch him and hold him.
At first, Suzy barely permitted her daughter to look at the baby. Smitty was too small to play and needed his mother’s attention at all times. Suzy pushed Mark away whenever she reached out to touch the baby.
It must have been a frustrating time for Mark. Luckily, though, she was a member of a family, and her need for contact with other siamangs was met partly by Unk, her father. During the first few weeks after Smitty’s birth, Unk and Mark spent a great deal of time together.
Smitty grew quickly. Within a few months he became the most active, playful little ape the zookeepers had ever seen. Although Suzy still watched him carefully, she readily allowed Mark to hold and groom him. As far as Smitty was concerned, however, sitting quietly in his sister’s lap was not nearly as rewarding as active play. He seemed to enjoy squirming out of Mark’s determined grasp and then teasing his sister until she chased him wildly all over the enclosure.
