A zoo in Yokohama has put a female red-shanked douc langur, a species listed as endangered and dubbed the "world's most beautiful monkey," on display. She is being leased from Singapore Zoo.
The arrival of the 5-year-old female at Zoorasia, Yokohama's municipal zoo, has spurred hopes that babies could be born there as the zoo has kept two male douc langurs since it opened in 1999. "She's outgoing and had a baby last year. We're hoping she'll pair up with one of the males we have here," Yoshiya Kawaguchi, a keeper at the zoo, said Monday.
Zoorasia has been looking for a female, but it has had to wait until now as international trading of monkeys has been restricted due to possible infectious diseases.
The red-shanked douc langur inhabits tropical rain forests in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. It is designated as an endangered animal on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List after its habitat was extensively damaged.
