x
Breaking News
More () »

St. Louis Zoo welcomes baby colobus monkey

The colobus monkey is found throughout the forests of east and central Africa.

ST. LOUIS – It's a boy! The St. Louis Zoo announced their latest addition.

A colobus monkey was born on Dec. 29, 2017.

He is a black and white colobus monkey, also known as Guereza colobus, according to a press release from the St. Louis Zoo.

The baby hasn’t been named by zookeepers yet. He and his family can be seen at the Primate House during regular zoo hours.

More about colobus monkeys

Colobus infants are born with all white hair and a pink face. Adults are primarily black, with white hair encircling their faces and half of their tails. Adults have a distinctive mantle of long white hair extending from their shoulders around the edge of their backs. An infant’s hair coat will change gradually until they reach adult coloration at about 6 months, the zoo says.

The colobus monkey is found throughout the forests of east and central Africa.

They live in multi-female families and take turns caring for newborns. Cecelia, 18, is the dominant female and an experienced mother who is taking great care of the new baby, along with her 1-year-old daughter, the zoo says. Their family includes – brothers Ziggy and Simon, ages 2 and 3, their half-sister, Binti, 4, and their 11-year-old father Kima.

The new baby will stay with mom Cecelia for nursing and sleeping, but during the day it’s common to see Binti (the half-sister) take the baby while mom eats. According to the zoo, this is a skill necessary for female youngsters to learn so they, too, can become successful mothers in the future.

“The new baby is doing really well and becoming very interested in everything happening around him,” says Brooke Johnson, Saint Louis Zoo primate keeper and Association of Zoos and Aquariums institutional representative for the black and white colobus monkey. “Brother and sister, Binti and Simon, are doing a great job taking care of and looking after their new sibling; and one-year old Willow is adjusting very well to sharing her mom with her baby brother."

PHOTO GALLERY:

Before You Leave, Check This Out