The latest arrival at Paignton Zoo Environmental Park is primate royalty.
The king colobus monkey was born on Friday, February 11. The baby – which as yet has no name and has not been sexed – was born to parents Martin and Squidge.
Mother Squidge was born in 1989 at Cricket St Thomas Wildlife Park and came to Paignton Zoo in November 1998. Father Martin was born in 1997 at Erfurt Zoo, Germany. He came to Paignton Zoo in November 2007.
Squidge has had two previous babies with Martin. Her first died after a month and the second was still born, so keepers are hoping it will be third time lucky.
The species is officially rated as Vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
There is a small zoo population – only six other zoos in Europe have them in their collections. King colobus are born white with black around the eyes, grey tails and black hands.
Paignton Zoo has successfully bred the species before and several animals have gone on to breed at other collections including Blackpool Zoo, Marwell Zoo and Africa Alive in Suffolk.
For more information go to www.paigntonzoo.org.uk or ring (01803) 697500.
(From a press release)
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