Posted May 9, 2022 in New Arrivals
Spring is in full swing at the zoo with many animal babies being born. Since March, we have had the pitter patter of tiny feet all around the park with babies such as monkeys, warthog piglets, deer and a Kirk’s dik-dik calf to name a few!
On the 24th April, Esme, the L’Hoest’s monkey, gave birth to a healthy baby who is yet to be sexed or named. Baby is doing really well with mum being very attentive and dad, Kane sometimes getting involved with the parental duties. Esme is an experienced mum as she has a son in the group called Lewis, who was born in 2019.
The gestation period for L’Hoest’s monkeys is just 5 months and, when the baby is born, they have orange hair which darkens at around 2-3 months old – so other than their size, the colouring also helps tell them apart from the adults!
This species of monkey comes from Burundi, Uganda, Rwanda and the Congo. The L’Hoest’s monkey is also known as the mountain monkey and they eat a variety of fruit, leaves and insects. They are classed as ‘Vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species so this birth is great news for the conservation of the L’Hoest’s monkey species.
Stop by Edge of Africa on your next visit to the Zoo to see if you can spot Esme’s youngster!
