‘Rare’ monkey born in Australian zoo

SYDNEY: One of the world´s rarest monkeys has been born at an Australian zoo. The male Francois´ Langur with its distinctive orange fur was born at Sydney´s Taronga zoo last week and has not yet been named.

Critically-endangered, the animal is only found in China and Vietnam where it is threatened by poachers and loss of habitat from encroaching development. "Seeing Francois´ Langurs in the wild is incredibly rare, but seeing a baby is even more so," said Senior Zoo Keeper Jane Marshall.

The zoo estimates there are only about 3,000 of the species left in the wild. "Not a lot of people know about Francois´ Langurs as a species, but these beautiful animals are very vibrant animals, who are incredibly agile and intelligent," Marshall added.