Keo-co explores in the company of an adult. Image: Rick Stevens
A bright orange baby has joined the family.
Baby Keo-co was born to mother “˜Saigon’ and father “˜Hanoi’ on January 30 at Taronga Zoo and will be the first baby Francois leaf-eating monkey to be raised by its mother in Australia. He has now begun to explore the outside exhibit with his mother and Meili, the other adult female in the group.
Taronga Zoo Primate Keeper, Roxanne Pellat, said in the press release “Obviously we were all very relieved when we discovered Keo-co cradled in Saigon’s arms. He had been licked clean, was warm, alert and the two adult females began sharing the role of caring for him. This is exactly what we hoped to see as this birth is particularly significant.”
Female leaf-eating monkeys share the mothering duties with the other females in their social group. Pellat explained “The youngster is the first Francois leaf-eating monkey to be raised by its mother along with another adult female “˜Meili’ in our harem group.”
“Consequently, we have named the infant “˜Keo-co’ (pronounced key-co) which is a traditional game of tug-of-war played in the villages of Vietnam. We noticed in the early days of his life “˜Saigon’ and “˜Meili’ were quite competitive as to who spent the most amount of time caring for the newborn.”
Saigon’s first offspring “˜Elke’ was hand-raised by zoo keepers, after Saigon seemed confused by the new baby, a common response for a first time monkey mother. Meili has proved herself to be a good mother, so Taronga staff are hoping she can teach Saigon a thing or two.
Francois leaf-eating monkeys were once widespread throughout China and Vietnam. Researchers now believe there could be as few as 1000 of them left, due to poaching and habitat.
