THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A baby Nilgiri langur was born in the Thiruvananthapuram zoo after a gap of 12 years. Born to 15-year-old Ranjini and 18-year-old Rajiv, the langur couple had earlier given birth to a female baby, Sona, in 2014, which is also currently part of the zoo here. With the new baby, the total count of Nilgiri langurs in the zoo has increased to four.
An endangered species found largely in the Western Ghats, fewer than 10,000 Nilgiri langurs are estimated to be there across the globe. Easily provoked and exhibiting violent characters, Nilgiri langurs are notoriously shy and difficult to breed in captivity.
However, ideal conditions for mating were arranged within their enclosure by zoo authorities, including curator Sangeetha Mohan, zookeeper Ranjith, and supervisor Ramachandran, resulting in the successful attempt.
Zoo veterinary surgeon Dr Nikesh Kiran evaluated the condition of the baby and found it to be in good health. The zoo authorities have shifted the mother and child to a specialised nursery for further care. They will be released to an open cage after one month, officials informed. Recently, a hanuman langur had also given birth to a baby langur here.
Even though some wild animals, including tigers, exhibit traits of being tamed by or familiarising with some humans, Nilgiri langurs are extremely unfriendly, zoo director Manjula Devi said. “Provided the rarity of the species and the difficulty in their captive breeding, we consider this birth a great achievement. In this case, even though we identified the pregnancy late, ample care was immediately given once it was confirmed,” she added.