Snow-white Baby Mantled Guereza Now on Show in the Dja Reserve
A baby mantled guereza was born at Prague Zoo. This is the first time the Dja Reserve has had a birth of these African monkeys. It is also Prague's first baby of this the rarer kikuyuensis subspecies, which the zoo has been keeping since the start of the year. In contrast to its black-and-white parents, the baby is snow-white, which will only last for a few weeks. The female, Lebamba, is a first-time mother, but she has taken to her role with aplomb. However, it is necessary to bear in mind that the baby, whose sex has yet to be determined, is still not out of the critical period. It can now be seen in the pavilion’s main exhibition, which is shared with a family troop of western lowland gorillas.
The baby guereza can be seen during the zoo’s opening hours. Visitors are most likely to spot it on the tummy or lap of its mother Lebamba or ‘aunt’ Nyianga. Photo by Petr Hamerník, Prague Zoo
Martin Vojáček, senior primate keeper, said, “Mantled guerezas are completely white when born. They stay bright white for several weeks. Then they begin to turn black, starting with their ears and palms. Soon their faces follow suit, and within a year they have the full adult coat.”
Prague Zoo has been displaying the group of three Mt. Kenya guerezas since this February. Bzik, a nearly 13-year-old male, came to Prague from Gdańsk, Poland, while the two females – five-year-old sisters Lebamba and Nyianga – arrived from France. Nyianga often borrows the baby, as it is common for multiple females to care for the young in guereza troops. The keepers hope that she too will soon have her first offspring.
A close-up of the baby born on 20 September at Prague Zoo’s Dja Reserve. Like most members of their genus, guerezas have a vestigial thumb, which makes it easier for these arboreal primates to move around in the branches. Photo: Petr Hamerník, Prague Zoo
Guerezas are dietary specialists – they only eat fresh tree leaves. Over the winter, Prague Zoo’s keepers feed them branches that have been frozen during the growing season. They prefer willow or acacia, but don’t mind blackberry or rose leaves.
So far mantled guerezas are not endangered, although in their native Central Africa they do face habitat loss and pressure from hunters. The European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) has recommended breeding the Mount Kenya subspecies
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