Taronga Zoo's new baby monkey is adorable, endangered, ginger
Today in cute news: Taronga Zoo has unveiled its bright orange little monkey baby, causing an uncontrollable outbreak of this exact expression on faces around the nation:
Born July 21, the little ginge is a Francois' langur, a super rare species native to China and Vietnam.
She's been named Embe after the Vietnamese word for baby, to represent her Southeast Asian heritage.
"Little Embe is doing really well," said Taronga's senior primate keeper Jane Marshall in a statement. "She's bright, attentive and interactive. At three weeks old she's already starting to explore her environment by picking up pieces of bark and is starting to grab at mum's food."
Sadly, that vivid orange fur won't stick around long. François' Langers are black all over as adults, except for white tufts on their faces and heads, and Embe is already starting to darken.
It's thought the babies are born with such a distinctive look to make it easier for adults to identify and look after them. The infants are typically cared for by their mothers, aunties and other females, a practice known as allmothering.
Her birth is happy news for the species: they're endangered because of heavy poaching in China and Vietnam for use in traditional medicines, with only around 2000 estimated to survive in the wild.
RELATED: OMG: Absurdly cute ginger monkey born at Taronga Zoo
