The births continue in this baby boom year, now with a first-time female of this primate that arrived at the park in 2018 and a litter of dwarf mongooses, the smallest carnivore in Africa.
Each new birth of an endangered species is a good news for the conservation of the planet's biodiversity and in this case it is especially so since it is one of the most endangered species of African primates. The white-capped mangabeys (Cercocebus lunulatus) are included in the infamous the IUCN red list (International Union for Conservation of Nature).
Known as the “eye stripe monkeys” because of their particular white eyelids, whose movements allow them to communicate, their geographical distribution in nature is restricted to the northern part of the Gulf of Guinea, on the western coast of Africa. In this area classified as “hot” for its biodiversity, la BIOPARC Foundation collaborates with the WAPCA project, which carries out vital work for conservation in situ of primates in Ghana. Despite the difficulties that Africa is going through due to COVID-19, this collaboration has been able to include a new area of action in the Cape Three Points Forest Reserve, where there are populations of both these mangabeys and Roloway cercopithecuses.
The white-crowned mangabey (Cercocebus lunulatus), included in the IUCN red list, is in serious danger of extinction and BIOPARC collaborates internationally in its conservation with the Valencian reproductive group and in its habitat in Africa with the BIOPARC Foundation.
In the other pillar of conservation, the one carried out ex situ, BIOPARC Valencia actively participates in the European program which includes the Valencian reproductive group that has this new offspring. The father is Vito, who arrived at BIOPARAC in 2008 from the Salzburg Zoo (Austria) and the mother Torcuata, who came from Jerez in November 2018. For this young female it is her first calf and so the technical team is paying special attention to it. Although at first he showed inexperience when holding the baby, he quickly began to handle him normally. The team continues to monitor the condition of mother and calf and guide their adaptation to the outdoor enclosure. Another adult female, Hope, and her two offspring, Nasha and Buki, also live in the group. At Bioparc Valencia we can contemplate this valuable species sharing enclosure with gorillas in the area that shows the forests of Equatorial Africa.
On the other hand, in the recreation of life size termite mound we found in the savannah zone, we can discover the new offspring of another species, dwarf mongooses (Helogale parvula undulata), the smallest carnivores in Africa. They have an interesting social system where the highest position is occupied by the alpha female, the oldest, followed by her partner, with whom she usually mates for life. This couple is the only one that reproduces in the entire group, since the other females' ability to procreate is hormonally inhibited by the alpha female. The hierarchy of the rest of the group is based on age. The rest of the members of the colony participate in the care and feeding of the little ones. Also striking is the special treatment given to older individuals and the injured or sick. BIOPARC offers us in every corner of the park “life lessons” and reasons to love and respect, not only the different animal species, but also our environment, our fellow human beings and ourselves, as a form of sustainability for the planet we all inhabit. .
