Posted September 22, 2021 in News
On 20th July 2021, our Animal Care Team welcomed the arrival of a baby gelada baboon to mum, Keecha and dad, Akobo.
Mum Keecha, was also born at Colchester Zoo in 2008 and has since become an experienced parent welcoming four previous offspring, three of which can be still be seen at Colchester Zoo today. Akobo, is seven years old and arrived at Colchester Zoo in July 2020 from Howlett’s Wild Animal Park to become the new breeding male of the group. This is the first time Akobo has sired an offspring. Their new arrival is yet to be sexed and named by our primate team but has settled in well within the troop and is constantly developing, learning from mum, Keecha and its older siblings.
There is no defined breeding season for this species, but in the wild a birth peak has been noted during the rainy season with females usually giving birth to a single infant. Unlike their name suggests, gelada baboons are in fact not a baboon but a separate species of monkey.
Gelada baboons are listed as ‘Least concern’ on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species however their population is decreasing so it is great news that our group continues to successfully breed.
Our gelada troop can be seen at Gelada Bridge, stop by and see if you can see the latest addition to the troop!
