RUSSIA: Visitors catch a glimpse of rare monkeys born at Moscow Zoo

Visitors catch a glimpse of two rare monkeys born at Moscow Zoo. The Mandrill and Black-handed Gibbon monkeys were born at the zoo in January but only presented to visitors and the media in early April. There was an air of excitement at the monkeys and apes enclosure at Moscow zoo recently, though you wouldn't know it by the melancholic attitude of some the zoo's orangutans. The monkey population at the zoo in the Russian capital has grown by the birth of two rare monkeys, a mandrill and a black-handed gibbon. The new arrivals were born at the zoo in late January, but visitors and the media were only recently given the chance to catch a glimpse of the two baby monkeys. The mandrill is one of the species included in the Red Book of rare species. And that's why staff at Moscow zoo seem so happy to see the new addition to its Mandrill family. Moscow zoo is breeding mandrills as part of the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP). "The baby mandrill is already trying to escape from his mother, but she doesn't let him to get too far away, because his father also looks after the baby very strictly. It is already the second birth in our group of mandrills and we hope it is not the last one," said Moscow Zoo spokewoman Natalya Istratova. Mandrills are said to be exceptionally good mothers. A mandrill new-born clings to the mothers belly immediately and stays there for about two months. The close bond between mother and her child continues for as long as three years or more. Moscow Zoo's new mandrill is the second child of a couple of mandrills which were brought to the zoo ten years ago. Mandrill's are said to be the world's largest and brightest species of monkey. Males can weigh up to 30 kg, and females about half as much. They can grow to a maximum height of a metre, and can survive for up to 25 years in captivity and up to 40 years in the wild. They live in the tropical rainforests of West Africa. Istratova said the relationship between zoo's couple of the black-handed gibbons developed slowly but happily. "It is the first baby for this couple of the black-handed gibbons. The male was widowed for a long time. he has been living in the Moscow zoo for the last 10 years. The female arrived a year and a half ago. For a long time they've been trying to become friends in a delicate way. First they just walked passed each other, then started seating side by side and so, slowly this friendship has transformed into love. And this is the first fruit of this love," she said. The baby gibbon is always with its mother and is breast-fed. He will start trying normal food only when he is six months old. Black-handed gibbons are rarely found in European zoos.

ITN Source | April 13, 2007

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