A zoo in Sydney, Australia announced the birth of an orange Francois' Langur monkey on Nov. 7, one of the rarest monkeys around the globe. It is listed in the endangered list of species and approximately less than 500 in Vietnam and 1,400 in China.
The male baby, named Nangua, the Mandarin term for pumpkin, was found by zoo keepers in the arms of his mother, Meili. These rare monkeys are born with bright light orange fur that darkens as they grow old for adults to easily distinguish and take care of them.
They are mostly seen in Vietnam and China but their population drastically decreased due to hunting and habitat destruction. People hunt Francois' Langur monkeys or otherwise known as Francois' leaf monkeys mainly for medicinal purposes and meat The destruction of their habitat because of mining, industrialization and agricultural development also contributed a lot to their population decline.
It was listed in as endangered species because their population has decreased by at least 50 percent over the past 36 years.
"Meili has shown her calmness and experience since the birth, cradling and protecting the baby," Senior Primate Keeper, Jane Marshall said. She added that the other females in the group, Noel and Elke, have shown interest in the infant and was allowed to hold him too.
Apparently, Francois' Langur monkeys practice a method called 'auntying' wherein other females in the group help in raising infants. In most cases, the baby monkey is passed around to other females.
Nangua, is the first offspring of father Bobo, a male Francois' Langur that arrived in Taronga zoo five years ago. For Meili, he is her second offspring because she gave birth to another male named Tam Dao in 2011.
"Bobo is a little bit overwhelmed, but he's doing really well. He's protective of Meili and he'll even let the baby climb onto him," Jane added.
Taronga is the only zoo in Australia that caters to the needs of these monkeys. They are working with zoos and agencies around the globe as part of conservation plans to ensure a bright future for these endangered species.
