"Joy and pleasure are as real as pain and sorrow and one must learn what they have to teach. . . ." -- Sean Russell, from Gatherer of Clouds

"If you're not having fun, you're not doing it right." -- Helyn D. Goldenberg

"I love you and I'm not afraid." -- Evanescence, "My Last Breath"

“If I hear ‘not allowed’ much oftener,” said Sam, “I’m going to get angry.” -- J.R.R. Tolkien, from Lord of the Rings

Saturday, February 18, 2017

Saturday Science/Antidote: Monkeys

I should have thought of this myself, since I've actually seen the little critters in person, but this comes via Digby. This is a brief view of a new Francois' langur, born February 7 at Lincoln Park Zoo:


From the Zoo's website:

A bright orange, endangered Francois’ langur was born February 6 at the Helen Brach Primate House. The infant is the seventh successful offspring for the zoo’s breeding pair, female Pumpkin and male Cartman. The langur infant joins sisters Kieu and Orla, brothers Vinh and Pierre, and adult female Chi. Lincoln Park Zoo participates in the Francois’ Langur Species Survival Plan ® (SSP), which cooperatively manages the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) accredited-zoo population.The sex and measurements of the infant are yet to be determined as the newborn is clinging tight to mom.

Francois’ langurs are endangered in the wild due to habitat degradation and hunting. They’re native to the southern Guangxi province of China, northern Vietnam and west-central Laos. Adults display black body coloration with a white marking from ear to ear and a black crest atop the head. Infants are born with a bright orange hue, which scientists believe encourages alloparenting, or “aunting” behavior, among females in the group. Infants’ fur turns black within the first three to six months of life.

And that's not the only newbie in the Primate House -- this one's almost two months old:

The newest member of the multigenerational black-and-white colobus monkey troop can now be seen clinging tightly to mom in Helen Brach Primate House! The infant was born on December 25 and will display white coloration until around 3–4 months of age. Sex and measurements are yet to be determined as the attentive mother and baby continue to bond.

If you visit Helen Brach Primate House to see the newborn black-and-white colobus monkey, you may observe the infant's aunt and and older sister lending mother Kutaka a hand. This is a species-typical behavior called alloparenting, or “aunting behavior.” Though the infant is clinging tightly to mom in the above photo, it's evident that the other members of the troop are acclimating well to the new arrival.

Lincoln Park Zoo has been very successful in breeding endangered species -- in fact, almost every time you turn around, there's a new baby something. It will be interesting to see how many new Japanese macaques we have this spring -- last year there were three.

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