Mother langur dies after giving birth; Task force steps in to rescue new born at Thiruvananthapuram Zoo

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A mother langur died shortly after giving birth to a male baby monkey at the capital's zoo. A special task force has stepped in to provide care for the new born Hanuman langur. This is the same team that previously cared for lion cubs abandoned by a lioness. The Hanuman langur was born at the Thiruvananthapuram Zoo on October 23rd. The mother monkey passed away due to pregnancy-related complications soon after giving birth. The weakened baby monkey was immediately shifted to the zoo hospital.

Zoo Veterinary Surgeon Dr Nikesh Kiran assessed the baby's health condition and shifted it to a specially prepared incubator system. Hand-feeding has now been started for the baby, and it weighs 850 grams. Dr Nikesh Kiran clarified that although the baby is healthy, the first week is very critical, and more about its health condition can only be said after that.

He also hinted that the baby's reluctance to drink milk is a cause for concern. Force-feeding milk could lead to complications like aspiration. Milk is presently being given at intervals of three hours. The post-mortem report states that the cause of death for the mother monkey was postpartum uterine bleeding followed by a cardiac arrest.