Birth of a l'Hoest's Monkey

Our young female l'Hoest's Monkey has just given birth to her very first infant after a gestation period of about 5 months. It is 3 weeks old and is doing well. It is born with a chesnut-colored fur that will progressively darken and reaches adult coloration around the age of 2 to 3 months. Infants nurse for about 1 year, until their mother gives birth to another offspring, but the frequency of nursing decreases significantly after the first two months.

Classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, the species has a rather small distribution area, limited to the dense forests of northeastern DRC and national parks in Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda where isolated populations persist. In this region where human population growth rates are high and civilian displacement due to armed conflicts frequent, pressure on natural resources continues to intensify. Hunting, particularly in the DRC where the L’Hoest's Monkey is only partially protected, constitutes one of the main threats to the species. In addition, the expansion of artisanal mining accelerates the loss of its habitat and increases the pressure on wildlife by facilitating the penetration of poachers into previously inaccessible forest areas.

L’Hoest's Monkeys live in groups generally comprising one male and about fifteen females with their offspring, but groups of 30 to 40 individuals have already been observed. They forage in the different layers of the forest in search of plants, mushrooms, insects, fruits, flowers and small vertebrates that make up the bulk of their omnivorous diet. But they do not hesitate to raid on crops when these overlap with the areas where they live!

Over the last 12 months, only 3 births of L’Hoest's Monkeys have been recorded in the fifteen European zoos that are members of the Breeding Programme for this species, bringing the total number of individuals to 65.