There's some very special TLC being handed out at Marwell Zoo to a very special monkey...

Meta is a Douroucouli, from South America. When his mother, Orinoco, died soon after his birth, head keeper, Shelly Parkes, stepped in as foster-mum and now he's doing well-thanks to her round-the-clock attention.

Shelly chose his name as a tribute to his mother and his native habitat. The Meta is a tributary of the Orinoco, so seemed the perfect choice

Meta, born on April 13th, weighed just 72 grams at birth. He now weighs 99 and is gaining about three grams daily. He has three millilitres of powdered baby milk at three-hourly intervals, with some Heinz baby food at the first and last feeds of the day. He also loves fruit.

Fortunately, Shelly only has to get up twice during night, with feeds at 1am and 5am. But as Shelly starts her normal day's work at 8am, that probably seems like twice too often!

He sleeps in an incubator in her house within the zoo grounds, with the temperature at 29C. For company, he cuddles a toy squirrel monkey and a toy lemur. He will be weaned at six months and weigh about a kilogram when fully grown.

Douroucouli are among the smallest and only nocturnal New World monkeys. They eat fruit and vegetation, insects and small mammals. With their huge eyes, they have excellent night vision.

They make a variety of sounds, but Shelly describes the sound her furry foster-baby makes as a "chirrup".

Douroucouli are hunted for their meat and fur and for the pet trade.