Greenville Zoo announces first birth of 2018

Greenville Zoo director Jeff Bullock announced today that the Greenville Zoo is celebrating its first birth of 2018 – a black and white Angolan colobus monkey. According to Bullock, the baby was discovered by animal care staff on January 10. Although the baby has been on exhibit with mother, Nuru; father, Valentino; and big sister, Zuri, who was born October 14, 2016, the zoo waited to make an official announcement until staff was confident that all was well. While the newborn’s sex has not been determined, staff should be able to tell soon.

Valentino, who was born at Jungle Island in Miami on February 13, 2002, and Nuru, who was born at the San Diego Zoo on December 3, 2006, have been together since June 23, 2015.  As part of the Species Survival Plan’s managed breeding program, the pair was recommended to produce offspring to help sustain the Angolan colobus population.

Colobus monkey babies are born completely white; however, their coats darken over the first couple of months. The Angolan colobus monkey’s range is in dense rainforests, both in the lowlands and coastal mountains of Africa. They live in most of the Congo Basin, to the south and northeast of the Congo River, as far as Ruwenzori, Burundi, and southwestern Uganda. The species can also be found in East Africa, especially in the montane and coastal forests of Kenya and Tanzania and in isolated mountain areas. Although the species is named after Angola, it is quite rare in that country.