Saved...the newborn monkey rejected by her mum
A DEDICATED team of zookeepers are working around the clock to keep a newborn monkey alive.
The king colobus monkey is being handreared after she was rejected by her mother Ivy when she was born.
Craig Gilchrist, from Paignton Zoo in Devon where the animal was born on Wednesday, said six keepers are now sharing the extra workload.
He explained: “We’ve been feeding her around the clock. At first it was every two hours – now it’s every three hours and every four through the night.
“She weighed a healthy 1¼lbs at birth and was very strong.
“For the time being she is living in a mobile incubator unit – in which keepers take her home at night.
“She is feeding on powdered baby milk formula through a syringe until she can suckle on a bottle.”
It is hoped that the newborn will eventually be accepted into the zoo’s group of four king colobuses when she is more mobile.
The caesarean procedure was performed by the zoo’s vet Jo Reynard.
She said: “We did an ultrasound and found that the baby was still alive but that Ivy would not give birth naturally.
“So it became very important to get the baby out quickly so we could save both their lives.
“Once the surgery began there was no room for nerves. As soon as we knew Ivy was out of danger and the baby was breathing we were elated.”
Paignton Zoo’s group of king colobus monkeys is made up of two males Finn and Divo, and two females Ivy and Lola.
King colobuses, native to the rainforests of West Africa, are classified as a vulnerable species.