Coronation of a King (colobus monkey)

Here at the Zoo, we are bestowing one of the first babies to be born in 2023 with a very special moniker in a tribute to King Charles III.

The tiny King colobus monkey has been called Charles in honour of His Majesty’s coronation on Saturday 6th May.

We are home to 10 of the endangered species after the birth of the youngster in April.

Mum, Taragi, and dad, Limbali, are experienced parents and little Charles will be carried round by mum for up to four months before he starts to explore his home and get to know the troop.

King colobus monkeys are part of the European Endangered Breeding Programme (EEP) and we are just one of nine zoos across Europe to house a collection.

Luke Minns, Section Manager of Mammals, said: “We were delighted to welcome another baby to our King colobus troop in April.

“We wanted to do something special to mark the coronation of King Charles III and the fact that the baby is a ‘King’ colobus monkey it seemed like a natural fit.

“Both parents are very experienced and mum is doing an amazing job with the little one.

“We hope King Charles III will be pleased to know that we have named this very special baby after him as we know he is an animal lover.”

The King colobus is a species of Old World monkey that is found in lowland and mountain rainforests in a region stretching from Senegal, through Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia to the Ivory Coast.

In the wild, numbers have declined over the last few decades, mainly due to hunting and a decline in the quality and quantity of the forested habitat.