It’s a girl! A female Guereza colobus monkey is the newest baby at the Saint Louis Zoo. Juniper was born on April 8 to 21-year-old Colobus mom Cecelia. The name Juniper continues a theme of tree-related names the baby shares with siblings Willow, Hawthorn and Teak. She and her family can now be seen at the Primate House.
Colobus infants are born with all white hair and a pink face. In contrast, adults are primarily black, with white hair encircling their faces and half of their tails and a distinctive mantle of long white hair around their shoulders and backs. An infant’s hair coat will change gradually until they reach adult coloration at about 6 months old.
Colobus mom Cecelia is the dominant female in the group of four males and four females. The experienced mother of six is taking great care of her newborn. Baby Juniper will stay with mom for nursing and sleeping, but all of the females in a colobus family will take turns holding and carrying the infant when mom is busying eating or socializing. The father, Kima, 15, can be seen watching over his family and interacting with the youngsters.
The birth is part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Colobus Species Survival Plan, a conservation breeding program to manage a genetically healthy population of Guereza colobus monkeys in North American zoos. Since 2011, there have been 10 successful colobus births at the Saint Louis Zoo.
The Guereza colobus monkey can be found throughout the forests of central Africa. Although fairly abundant in the wild, this species is increasingly threatened by deforestation for timber and loss of habitat to plantations and agricultural land, as well as illegal hunting. People can help protect the colobus monkey and other wildlife with some simple steps: reduce, reuse, recycle — in that order; use Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) Certified wood and paper products, and use rainforest-friendly coffee, such as Rainforest Alliance Certified.
