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Name the Langur

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langur_silverbaby3

Help us name this little langur!

Our youngest silvered leaf langur was born on October 14, 2009, to father Aden and mother LiLi. She is the third baby born in this troop (see Langurs: From Orange to Silver). I have been referring to her as “Teeny-Tiny Baby,” because she was the smallest of the three babies at birth. When she was born, the other youngsters, Bala and Aluna, were very interested in the new addition.

Female silvered leaf langurs help each other care for the young; Bala and Aluna were no exceptions. They tried to hold the baby and hug her, but LiLi would not allow them to care for the little one on their own as they were just babies themselves. The young females were only allowed to greet her. Female langurs greet each other by doing what looks similar to hugging. However, when Zoe, another adult female, was caring for Teeny-Tiny Baby, she let Bala sneak in and hold Teeny for a while. Bala held Teeny-Tiny just like she had seen the adults do (with the baby clutching the stomach of the adult), but because Bala was still small herself, the pair kept tipping over! So Zoe held Teeny-Tiny’s hand to help them stay upright. Once LiLi realized what was going on, she came over to claim her baby. That story is my personal favorite.

Zoe loved taking care of all the babies in the troop. When Bala was born, Bala’s mother would not allow Zoe to hold her for the first two weeks because of Zoe’s inexperience with infants. But by the time Teeny-Tiny came along, Zoe was a pro. She would seek out LiLi and snag Teeny-Tiny away so she could hold her and carry her around like Teeny was her own. Sadly, in November we lost Zoe to cancer.

Teeny-Tiny is outgoing and loves to play with Bala and Aluna; occasionally she has trouble keeping up with them, but for the most part she holds her own. She never gives up and always finds a way to entertain herself, like using her mother’s tail as a swing and leaping from branch to branch. But now, at six months old and growing fast, the “teeny-tiny baby” name no longer suits her. She needs a great name to match her great personality. I’ve come up with three names for Teeny-Tiny that are in honor of Zoe, and I’d love to see which name you like best for our growing girl. Here are the choices and meanings:

- Zoli – derived from Zoe and is an ancient Greek name meaning “life”
- Kayla – means “beloved” in the Tigrinya language
- Kalani – Hawaiian for “the heavens”

Please offer your suggestion for the baby langur’s name as a comment below. We’ll see which name receives the most comments in the next few days and announce the winner. And be sure to visit our silvered leaf langur exhibit at the San Diego Zoo, located in the Asian Passage zone on Sun Bear Trail. Thank you for your help!

Beth McDonald is a senior keeper at the San Diego Zoo.

Note: You can help our silvered leaf langur family, and other Zoo primates, by purchasing a toy from our May Animal Care Wish List. The langurs have requested cube toys and snack toys!

Another note: Thanks for voting! We’ll add up the votes on Monday, May 10.


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