Thiruvananthapuram Zoo welcomes baby Nilgiri langur

Ranjini, the Nilgiri langur and her baby Sona. | Photo credit: File Photo

The Thiruvananthapuram Zoo has welcomed a baby Nilgiri langur after more than a decade of birth.

The zoo said the rare new addition was born on Tuesday (July 14, 2026) to Ranjini and Rajeev, a 15-year-old and 18-year-old Nilgiri langur.

Brought from the forest department’s animal rescue center in Kodanad in 2013, the couple had not had a child since 2014 when they had a female named Sona.

Nilgiri langurs, commonly called the black-leafed monkey, hooded monkey or John’s langur, are shy breeders but can also become agitated and aggressive. For this reason, it is not easy to get them to breed.

The zoo’s veterinarian, Nikesh Kiran, said that a number of conditions must be met for the successful breeding of Nilgiri langurs. One of them is male-female compatibility. A female langur should be in heat. They should also have a good nutritional status.

The team led by zoo curator Sangeetha Mohan, keeper Ranjith and supervisor Ramachandran worked hard to provide the pair in their enclosure with a calm and secluded environment conducive to reproduction and proper care, which resulted in the birth of the cub after a 200-day gestation.

Zoo director Manjula Devi said in a statement that since Nilgiri langurs are listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, the arrival of the cub was a great achievement. It is estimated that there are less than 10,000 Nilgiri langurs in the world.

With the birth of the baby langur, the zoo’s nilgiri langur population has now increased to four.

The gender of the baby has not yet been identified, said Dr. Nikesh. Ranjini and her newborn have been moved to a special “nursery” for the next few days where they will be closely monitored.

Both will be moved to an open enclosure after a month so that visitors can see the cub, zoo director TV Anil Kumar said in a statement.

Published – 16 Jul 2026 15:08 IST