Incredibly rare new-born monkey gets a helping hand from Belfast Zoo
Now this is just adorable 🍼🐒
Born on 8th May, the rare Francois' langur primate nicknamed “Wee Red” has been carefully looked after by Belfast Zoo Keeper Geraldine Murphy.
As her “adoptive mother”, Geraldine takes the three-month-old baby monkey home every night so she can continue bottle feeding her every few hours.
“Wee Red” has been officially named Hóngxīn, meaning “red heart” in Chinese. The name is also a nod to the small distinctive heart-shaped birth mark on the back of the infant’s head.
Geraldine has spent several months raising her and has now begun the process of slowly reintroducing her into the family unit.
Listed as endangered with estimates of less than 2000 left in the wild, the monkey is native to China and Vietnam and is threatened by poachers and loss of habitat in its home countries.
Infants are born with orange fur which gradually changes to black with white streaks as they mature.
Keeper Geraldine explained that sometimes animals reject their offspring:
“There are occasions where mothers just do not have the skill set or the instinct to care for their young but thankfully this is not very frequent. After monitoring the mother and baby it quickly became clear that we needed to become involved.”
Geraldine is no novice when it comes to hand-rearing animals as she was tasked with looking after two Chilean flamingo chicks, named Popcorn and Peanut, back in 2018.
“We prefer animals to be reared naturally by their parents, but this isn’t always possible. Hand-rearing animals is no easy job, it is time consuming and can be difficult, but it is also very rewarding. “Wee Red” is definitely keeping me busy but it will be worth it when she is fully integrated back into her family again.
“Not a lot of people know about this type of primate, but these beautiful monkeys are very vibrant animals, who are incredibly intelligent and agile. It is a real privilege to be able help this endangered species.”
Belfast Zoo has experienced over 20 Francois' langur births at the since the threatened species first arrived at the zoo in 1994.
Belfast Zoo Curator, Andrew Hope is the studbook keeper for the François’ langur breeding programme. He is responsible for co-ordinating the genetic and reproductive management of this captive population, which are living in seven European zoos.
Commenting on the birth, Andrew said, “Here at Belfast Zoo we have been incredibly successful at breeding this endangered primate and we are delighted with the arrival of Hóngxīn. This infant is not just something for us to celebrate here at Belfast Zoo, but globally this is significant as with each new arrival, fresh hope is brought to the species. Logging and the expansion of agriculture has destroyed the habitat of the François’ langur and they are also captured and sold as pets or used in traditional medicines. Numbers are in serious decline and we are honoured that we are able to play an active role in the conservation of the François’ langur.”
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