Endangered Monkey Gets Second Chance
At only three weeks old, a tiny endangered monkey who was rejected by his mother is firmly clinging on to life – and his teddy bear!
The miniature 4" François' langur monkey was rejected by mother Lee Lee after his birth at ZSL London Zoo and is now being looked after by a surrogate mother, zookeeper Kate Sanders.
Born on the day the Olympic torch route was announced, zookeepers saw his bright orange head and black body – which they thought made him look just like the Olympic torch – and named him 'Flame' in honour of his special birthday and unusual colouring. The species are usually black all over with distinctive white sideburns.
Kate is still nurturing the baby langur with the help of a monkey teddy to which Flame clings, but after three weeks of intensive care she is confident he'll be around for 2012 and beyond. The teddy serves in place of his mother and will make it easier for keepers to reintroduce Flame to his real family.
The world's population of François' langurs (Trachypithecus francoisi) has halved in the last 40 years due to habitat loss and hunting. Listed as endangered by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, François' langurs are widespread but their populations are highly fragmented and isolated. It is believed there are just over 1,000 left in the wild.
Kate said: "Francois langurs are extremely endangered so Flame is a very precious monkey – he looks like a torch and he's a beacon of hope for his species.”
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