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Posted: 6th December 2011
Endangered Monkey Gets Second Chance
Rare monkey being raised at ZSL London Zoo despite difficult start.

At only three weeks old, a tiny endangered monkey who was rejected by his mother is firmly clinging on to life – and his teddy bear!


The miniature 4" François' langur monkey was rejected by mother Lee Lee after his birth at ZSL London Zoo and is now being looked after by a surrogate mother, zookeeper Kate Sanders.

Born on the day the Olympic torch route was announced, zookeepers saw his bright orange head and black body – which they thought made him look just like the Olympic torch – and named him 'Flame' in honour of his special birthday and unusual colouring. The species are usually black all over with distinctive white sideburns.

Kate is still nurturing the baby langur with the help of a monkey teddy to which Flame clings, but after three weeks of intensive care she is confident he'll be around for 2012 and beyond. 

The teddy serves in place of his mother and will make it easier for keepers to reintroduce Flame to his real family.



The world's population of François' langurs (Trachypithecus francoisi) has halved in the last 40 years due to habitat loss and hunting. Listed as endangered by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, François' langurs are widespread but their populations are highly fragmented and isolated. It is believed there are just over 1,000 left in the wild.



Kate said: "Francois langurs are extremely endangered so Flame is a very precious monkey – he looks like a torch and he's a beacon of hope for his species.”

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Applications open for MMI research grants

News Story 1
 RCVS' Mind Matters Initiative (MMI) has launched round two of its veterinary mental health research grants.

Researchers have until 11.59pm on Wednesday, 28 May 2025 to apply for a grant for research which reflects MMI's 2025 focus areas.

Only one Impact Grant was awarded last year, and so this year there are two Discovery Grants and one Impact Grants available. Each Discovery Grant is worth £5,000 and the Impact Grant is worth £15,000.

For more information or to apply, email researchgrants@rcvs.org.uk to contact the MMI team.

 

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News Shorts
Germany livestock import ban lifted

The UK government has amended its ban on the import of livestock, meat and dairy products from Germany.

Defra said the decision follows 'rigorous technical assessment' of the measures applied and the current situation. "If the situation changes, we will not hesitate to take necessary action in response to the FMD outbreaks in the European Union to protect our domestic biosecurity," it said.

The ban was implemented in January following an outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD) near Berlin. Personal imports of meat, milk and dairy products will remain in place at a country level.