Hans Hillewaert
Rare monkey born in French zoo
Published: 02 Aug 2012 15:32 GMT+02:00 | Print version
Updated: 02 Aug 2012 15:32 GMT+02:00
An exceptionally rare Roloway monkey has been born at a zoo in eastern France that is striving to preserve one of the most endangered primate species on the planet.
The baby was born at Mulhouse Zoo, which is coordinating the European Endangered Species Programme to save the Roloway monkeys, native to a small
area of eastern Ivory Coast and the forests of Ghana.
The two-week-old baby has been named Owabi after a wildlife sanctuary in western Ghana.
There are fewer than 200 Roloway monkeys remaining in the wild and only 27 in captivity, Mulhouse Zoo veterinarian Benoit Quintard said.
"The Cercopithecus Roloway is a very endangered species," he said. "Births of this species are very rare in zoos." Roloway monkeys are between 44 and 57 centimetres (17 and 22 inches) long, with tails that can reach lengths of 86 centimetres (34 inches), and on average weigh about five kilogrammes (11 pounds).
Predominantly black, with white areas at the throat and the interior side of the arms, Roloway monkeys are distinguished by their pointed white beards.
Today's headlines
Airbus's new A350 long-haul aircraft does a taxi test at Toulouse-Blagnace aerodrome in south-western France on June 11th. Photo: Eric Cabanis/AFP
French airline company Air France confirmed on Wednesday a multi-billion euro order of Airbus's new A350 planes. The planes are not yet in service and only recently carried out a test flight (see video).
READ () »
"Do you know where is the Eiffel Tower?" A new campaign hopes to teach tourism professionals in Pairs how to understand their international clients. Photo: CCI/CRT
The days of the rude Paris waiter or shopkeeper may soon be over. As part of a new campaign, Paris tourism chiefs published a training manual this week aimed at teaching Parisians who come into contact with tourists how to offer them a better welcome.
READ () »
The Catholic shrine of Lourdes, Haute-Pyrénées under 1.4 metres of water after severe flooding in south-western France, which claimed its victim in the early hours of Wednesday. Photo: P. Pavani/AFP
An elderly woman has drowned in south-western France after severe floods swept away her car in the town of Pierrefitte-Nestalas. In all 43 departments across the country were place on alert for storms and flooding.
READ () »
Lourdes floods
Lourdes under flood waters in 2012. Photo: Laurent Dard/AFP
The historic Catholic pilgrimage site of Lourdes in south west France was evacuated on Tuesday after flash floods hit the area. Management at the shrine have told The Local they are growing increasingly concerned as waters continue to rise.
READ () »
Opinion - Smacking
Photo: Screengrab/Youtube/Fondation pour l'Enfance
As a provocative new anti-smacking video campaign by the Fondation pour l'Enfance (Foundation for Childhood) causes a stir in France, the man behind the drive Dr. Gilles Lazimi tells The Local why France needs a law banning parents from smacking their kids.
READ () »
Karim Benzema (left) with French team mate Franck Ribery (right) and Zahia Dehar the former call girl at the centre of the scandal. Photo: Franck Fife/AFP / ZahiaOfficiel
French football stars Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema, went on trial on Tuesday, accused of paying to have sex with then underage call-girl Zahia Dehar. The process was adjourned until January, however, on a legal technicality.
READ () »
Photo: AW Sheffield
The Eiffel Tower in Paris was evacuated by police on Tuesday after a man threatened to throw himself off the famous monument. Reports suggest, however, that emergency services personnel have succeeded in apprehending the man.
READ () »
Admiral Lord Nelson. Photo: Ell Brown
These words are not the latest outburst by notorious French basher, London's Mayor Boris Johnson, but were the opinion of Britain’s Napoleonic War hero Admiral Lord Nelson, whose outspoken views were revealed in a letter, auctioned in London this week.
READ () »
A pregnant Muslim woman who was allegedly attacked in the suburbs of Paris by two ‘skinheads’ for wearing an Islamic face veil has suffered a miscarriage, it was reported on Tuesday.
READ () »
Johnny Hallyday (L), Serge Gainsbourg (R). French music icons whose impersonators' bizarre feud turned bloody. Photo: Georges Biard/Claude Truong-Ngoc
A court in north-eastern France on Tuesday sentenced to jail an impersonator to French music icon Serge Gainsbourg for stabbing a rival tribute act for French rock star Johnny Hallyday, amid a bizarre feud between the pair.
READ () »
.jpg&mode=resize&size=300x200)
Your comments about this article:
The comments below have not been moderated in advance and are not produced by The Local unless clearly stated. Readers are responsible for the content of their own comments. Comments that breach our terms and conditions will be removed.