IN ANIMALS ON 13TH FEB 2022

New Female Black and White Colobus Monkey, Freya, arrives.

Fota Wildlife Park are excited to announce the arrival of Freya, a new female Black and white colobus monkey who came from Zoo La Palmyre, France earlier this year as part of a European ex-situ breeding programme.

Close up of female Black and White Colobus Monkey looking to the camera, while eating a green salad leaf t Fota Wildlife Park

Freya, who is four and a half years old, is being gradually introduced to the resident breeding male Black and white Colobus. Freya can be seen acclimatising to her new surroundings in the colobus monkey house located just inside the main entrance. She will be joined by three other female colobus monkeys, Nia, Kimani and Massassi who will be coming to Fota from the Bojnice National Zoo, Slovakia in the coming months.

A native of Africa, the distinctive-looking Black and white colobus live high up in the forest canopy, which can be very cold. They are mostly covered in a long black pelt which contrasts with a flowing white mantle of hair on their shoulders and back and feature white facial hair and beard. Colobus monkeys are herbivorous and eat leaves, fruit, flowers, and twigs.

Close up of female Black and White Colobus Monkey looking off to the right, at Fota Wildlife Park

Lead ranger Teresa Power said, “We are delighted to welcome this new female Colobus, Freya. We hope that Freya will breed with the dominant male colobus, Tom. Although listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as Least Concern, the Black and white colobus is popular for its unique coat and has been hunted for centuries because of this. The Black and white colobus’ native African habitat is threatened by agricultural developments and timber production. Therefore, ex-situ breeding programmes at wildlife parks and zoos are essential for species survival.”

 

Fota’s Colobus monkeys are of a race known as kikuyuensis, which originate in the cool mountain forests of Kenya. In Fota, they eat monkey chow, fruits, vegetables, and willow branches. The original group was made up of bachelors who arrived in Fota Wildlife Park from Belfast Zoo in 2010.

~

To learn more about the Black & White Colobus Monkeys please check out their species page here.

Sign up to our e-newsletter at the bottom of this page to get the latest news from the Wildlife Park to your inbox!

LATEST NEWS

NEWS
NEWS
Launch of 2023 Photography Competition
2ND JUN 2023

Launch of 2023 Photography Competition

The 2023 Fota Wildlife Park Photography Competition now open for...

CONSERVATION
CONSERVATION
Origins of Irelands Biodiversity
29TH MAY 2023

Origins of Irelands Biodiversity

HOW I BECAME CURIOUS ABOUT THE ORIGINS OF IRELAND’S BIODIVERSITY-...

NEWS
NEWS
Accessibility Survey
23RD MAY 2023

Accessibility Survey

As Fota Wildlife Park celebrates its 40th anniversary this year,...

NEWS
NEWS
Announcing public contest to name four new cheetah cubs
26TH APR 2023

Announcing public contest to name four new cheetah cubs

Fota Wildlife Park launches public contest to name four new...