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Ocean Park Welcomes First-ever Birth of Golden Snub-nosed Monkey in Hong Kong

2017-04-18

Ocean Park is excited to announce the first-ever birth of a golden snub-nosed monkey baby in Hong Kong on 17 April, an offspring of male golden monkey Qi Qi and female Le Le who arrived at Ocean Park from Chengdu Zoo in 2015 and 2012 respectively. The new-born’s condition is stable and has been observed nursing well. The Hong Kong Jockey Club Sichuan Treasures (HKJCST) will be closed for the first day (today) and partially closed for 2-3 days thereafter subject to the animals’ condition, to allow the new born baby and mother time to bond. The Park is glad to see that Le Le is a good first-time mother as the baby monkey begins to suckle.
 
Ms Suzanne Gendron, Executive Director of Zoological Operations and Education, said, “We are thrilled to welcome this precious new member, the very first golden snub-nosed monkey baby being born  in Hong Kong, to the Park’s family of animal ambassadors and contribute to conserving this endangered species. I would like to extend our heart-felt gratitude to Chengdu Zoo for their tremendous support throughout the breeding programme for this baby. Chengdu Zoo’s guidance and support to our dedicated curatorial and veterinary team, has helped ensure that Le Le’s pregnancy and the birth of the baby went smoothly and was a success. Le Le and her new-born are under close monitoring by the Park’s curatorial and veterinary team and Chengdu Zoo’s delegate. Based on our observations, Le Le is doing a great job as a first-time mother and the baby is learning to suckle very well.  We wish to give Le Le and the new born baby time to bond and establish their nursing routine, before fully reopening the HKJCST so that guests may visit this adorable new member of Ocean Park and learn about the ecology of golden snub-nosed monkeys and how to protect them.”
 
Mr Yu Jianqiu, Assistant Director of Chengdu Zoo, said, “Ocean Park has given incredible efforts in taking care of Qi Qi and Le Le since their arrival, and the breeding of the golden snub-nosed monkeys. It is heartening to witness such a great result, considering Qi Qi just left Chengdu Zoo for Ocean Park less than two years ago and it is the Park’s first time to facilitate the breeding of this species. Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys are listed as an endangered species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red list of threatened species and there are currently about 15,000 Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkeys left in the wild throughout the species’ range of West-Central China. Every effort in breeding the species in a well-managed facility like Ocean Park will be helpful in developing a population that is genetically diverse and healthy, thereby contributing to the conservation of the species.”
 
The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department and Department of Forestry of Sichuan Province have been notified of the birth. Ocean Park will continue to update the public on the status of the golden monkey baby as information becomes available.