Cute, cuddly, very orange and rare monkey born at Australian zoo

A cute, cuddly, very orange and rare Francois'Langur monkey has been born in an Australian zoo which was discovered by keepers in the arms of his mother in early November.

Named Nangua, meaning pumpkin in mandarin, the rare baby is the second for his mother Meili at Sydney's Taronga zoo, and the first for his father Bobo who arrived from Beijing zoo in 2010 as part of an international breeding program for the endangered species.

Experts are unsure of the remaining wild population for the elusive endangered species, once widespread throughout China and Vietnam, though suggest only a few 1,000 remain due to a loss of habitat and poaching for traditional medicines.

"Their numbers are in decline which makes the birth here, not just important for our breeding group, but the global breeding program,"a spokesman for Taronga Zoo told Xinhua on Friday.

Taronga zoo houses the only breeding program in Australasia as the breeding programs for the Francois' Langur monkey are predominantly European based.

The cute baby"pumpkin"and his parents are doing well, receiving lots of attention and cuddles from his mother Meili and the harem group's other females as they practice allomothering, or "auntying," where the harem raises the baby.

Nangua's papa Bobo has even let the little one "monkey around" up on his back. Endit