Denver Zoo welcomes its newest resident, a newborn colobus monkey
named Darby. The infant, whose gender is still unknown, is all-white
and can be seen being held by its mother, providing a rare and striking
visual; although infants are born white, adults are mostly black with a
white face border and white veiling flanks and a bushy white tail.

All photos credit: Dave Parsons/Denver Zoo

The
monkey was born to mother, Sadie, and father, Ray, on Oct. 15 and is
the first of this species to be born at Denver Zoo since 2004. Weather
permitting, the infant can be seen with the rest of its troop in
Primate Panorama at Denver Zoo. The newborn’s mother will eventually
allow the other females in the troop to hold the infant, but for now
holds her baby tight. This arboreal species has no problem moving about
the trees with the infant in tow.

The name colobus is
from the Greek word meaning “mutilated one” because of the animal’s
lack of thumbs. Colobus are part of the Old World monkey sub-family Colobinae,
which is characterized by their lack of thumbs and cheek pouches,
specialized, multi-chambered stomachs that ferment fibrous leaves, and
a very long tail. In the wild, colobus monkeys can be found in central
Africa. One of the primary threats Colobus monkeys face in the wild is
that they are often hunted for bushmeat.