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Great Progress Made by China in Artificial Breeding of Black Leaf Monkeys
A female monkey in the Black Leaf Monkey Breeding Center in Wuzhou, Guangxi has scored a record by giving birth to 15 baby monkeys in succession, marking great progress made by China in the study of artificial breeding of black leaf monkeys.
The "heroine mother", nicknamed "fatty lady", weighing 8 kg and aged 23, was sent to be raised in Wuzhou when she was caught in December 1979. From the first baby born in November 1982 to the other male baby born on August 9 this year, she has given birth to nine "sons" and six "daughters" in 17 years.
"We are studying on how many babies a black leaf money can bear in a lifetime, and the "fatty lady" has made a great contribution," said a senior vet in the Center. The Center is said to have other two black leaf monkeys with their fertility exceeding 10 times but these two are different from the "Fatty" for they were the ones of artificial breeding. So far, there are only 4,500 black leaf monkeys in the world, and such monkey was listed as rare animals under the first-rate protection in China. Inhabiting in Guangxi and Guizhou, there are about 3000 black leaf monkeys in Guangxi alone.
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