'Ding' and 'Bouncy,' with their distinctive mutton chops, among new primate species at Woodland Park Zoo



SEATTLE -- Woodland Park Zoo announced Friday that it has two new primate species -- six François' langurs and two white-faced saki monkeys.

The all-male troop of François' langurs includes Ding, 17, Yaya, 5, Tang and Petey, 4, Zhang, 3, and Bouncy, 2. The troop was transferred from Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium.

“Ding is the father of all five boys in the group,” said Martin Ramirez, mammal curator at Woodland Park Zoo.

One of the Francois' langurs at the Woodland Park Zoo.(Photo: Dennis Dow/Woodland Park Zoo)



The zoo said François' langurs have a head-body length of 18 to 25 inches; their tail is almost one and a half times their body length. Their fur is black with white lines from the corners of the mouth, across the cheeks to the ears, closely resembling mutton chops. François' langurs have a distinctively tall and pointed crest of black hair on their head. The inquisitive and endearing François' langur face has a short muzzle and prominent brow ridges, giving the expression of permanent surprise.

François' langurs are distributed from Southwestern China to northeastern Vietnam. They are listed as Endangered. The zoo said there is reason to believe the François' langur population has declined by at least 50% over the past 36 years due primarily to habitat loss and hunting.

One of the white-faced saki monkeys at the Woodland Park Zoo.(Photo: Jeremy Dwyer-Lindgren/Woodland Park Zoo)



The pair of white-faced Saki monkeys brought to Seattle include a male, Snuggle, 19, who arrived from the Jacksonville Zoo, and female Babs, 6, who arrived from the Santa Ana Zoo.

The zoo said Saki monkeys are wholly arboreal; they have long legs which they use for jumping and clinging between vertical branches and trees. Saki monkeys have long, coarse coats and long, bushy tails. Males are black except for the face which is whitish to reddish. Females are predominantly brown to brownish-gray above, paler below, and have bright white to pale red stripes extending from each eye to the corners of the mouth.

White-faced sakis are found in Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname and Venezuela. White-faced saki have a relatively wide distribution and are not considered threatened or endangered.