The Los Angeles Zoo announced the birth of an endangered François' Langur baby. The infant, a female, was born on February 11 to mother Kim-Ly and father Paak.
The infant’s bright orange fur is typical for this species. The orange fur gradually darkens as the baby matures, and by about six months old, the baby will have completely black fur with a white stripe from ear to ear, just like an adult.
The new baby has joined the zoo’s Langur troop in a lush environment, where she explores with the help of her mom and other females in the group.
François' Langurs practice alloparenting, where adult females of a social group assist in caring for offspring that are not their own. This helps the entire group bond, provides parenting experience to younger females who are not yet mothers themselves, and relieves the birth mother from being the sole caregiver.
Native to southern China, northeastern Vietnam, and west-central Laos, these Monkeys live in large groups of as many as 20 individuals, with the average group size being four to 10. They divide their time between the treetops and the forest floor while eating a diet of shoots, fruits, flowers, and bark.
François’ Langurs are classified as Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, with the main threats to wild populations being hunting and deforestation of their native habitat.