A new baby can draw quite a crowd, and colobus monkeys are no exception. At Lincoln Park Zoo, a newborn has caught the attention of a troop that includes his grandmother, aunt, and uncle.
Lincoln Park Zoo announced that Nola, 7, gave birth early on Sept. 24, 2026, to her first baby, a boy, following a breeding recommendation from the Guereza Colobus Species Survival Plan, which helps participating zoos manage the species’ population. The father is Oku, 11. The newborn is bright white with a pink face, easy to pick out among the troop’s black coats, and the mother and baby are both doing well.
“Nola is already proving to be a great mom, and we’re excited to see how the other females in the troop develop their parenting abilities with the baby, which is common for colobus monkeys,” said curator Dani Fogarty in a press release. “The Colobus Species Survival Plan is integral to the health and stability of the species’ population, and we’re proud to play a part in that work.”
Why Baby Colobus Monkeys Are Born White
(Image Courtesy of Lincoln Park Zoo
According to the zoo, colobus babies are white at birth and adults are mostly black, so parents can keep track of a baby among the troop. Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, which had its own colobus birth in June, adds that the pale coat helps the group tell who is looking after the baby. Lincoln Park's baby will start changing color at about six weeks and should have his adult coloring by about six months.
Explore All OptionsAdults have glossy black coats, white framing around the face, a white U-shaped mark on the back, and a tail that the zoo says can reach 35 inches, with a white tip. They live in the trees of equatorial Africa, where some researchers suspect the long fur acts like a parachute on long leaps. The species is not among those most at risk of extinction, but wild colobus still lose forest to clearing and face illegal hunting.
Read More: Newest Baby Snow Leopard at the Bronx Zoo Pounces and Crouches as She Stalks Her Mother
How Colobus Troops Share Baby Care
Raising a colobus baby is rarely a one-monkey job, and Woodland Park Zoo says the whole family group takes turns with an infant, a practice called alloparenting that can include minding, grooming, carrying, and guarding the infant, and that young females learn to be good mothers by helping out.
A mother can use the help, and a study of wild colobus notes that nursing, protecting, and carrying an infant all use energy, and that a clinging baby can keep her from moving around to feed. Putting the baby down is risky, since a lone infant can fall victim to predators.
The study, published in the American Journal of Primatology, followed seven mothers and their infants in three groups in Kibale National Park in Uganda for six months. Younger group members were more likely than adults to handle infants, and females were more likely than males.
The baby's distance from its mother, and the age and sex of the nearest group member, best predicted when others stepped in. When others held the baby, mothers ate more often, spent more time eating and resting, and took in more energy.
That study looked at wild monkeys rather than the troop in Chicago, and Lincoln Park hasn't said whether anyone is helping Nola yet.
Until he gets a name, the easiest way to spot him is to look for the one white coat among the black ones, and to see who else is looking too.
Article Sources
Our writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:
- This article references information from Lincoln Park Zoo: Colobus Monkey Born at Lincoln Park Zoo
- This article references information from Lincoln Park Zoo: New Arrival: Black-and-white Colobus Monkey Infant
- This article references information from Woodland Park Zoo: New colobus monkey born: First birth of the species at the zoo in nearly three decades!
- This article references information from American Journal of Primatology: Maternal feeding benefits of allomaternal care in black-and-white colobus (Colobus guereza)
