Endangered Monkey with Orange Fur Born at Zoo: Photos

A newborn monkey with orange fur is turning heads at a zoo!

The Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden announced that monkey couple Pam and Ripley — endangered François langurs — welcomed a male infant to their family in Oklahoma’s capital on Sept. 8. 

The endangered infant, who hasn’t been named yet, was born with a head and body covered in orange fur, which will gradually darken to jet black within a year, as is the case with all François langurs.

Pace Frank, the zoo’s assistant curator of primates, told PEOPLE that the color serves a purpose, explaining, “The orange fur helps for langur infants to be easily spotted by the members of their troop.”

Adults in this species, like Pam and Ripley, have dramatic white sideburns. 

As of Friday, Sept. 26, the zoo has not yet named the infant monkey.

People quickly reacted to the monkey’s birth on the zoo’s Facebook post.

“Must be a Weasley,” one person replied, referring to the family with reddish-orange hair in the Harry Potter series.

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Dwight Lawson, the zoo’s executive director and CEO, said, “Every birth is a cause for celebration, but for conservationists, this one is special.”

The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the François langurs as endangered, as only between 2,000 and 2,100 of these mature old-world monkeys exist, after the wild population dropped 50% in 37 years.

“With such a small wild population, it’s all the more important that we raise awareness of François langurs and work to preserve the species and their habitat,” Lawson said of the importance of the newborn’s birth.

The infant’s parents, who came to the zoo in 2021 with the intention of breeding, welcomed female Fera in 2024.

Unlike her newborn brother, Fera wasn’t born with orange body fur, as only her head was covered with orange fur. 

“As an endangered species, this birth is incredibly special to the zoo and our primate team,” Shannon Charles-Ray, curator of primates, said.

She continued, “We were able to partner with our zoo veterinary team to closely monitor Pam’s pregnancy via ultrasound, which was a great experience for both teams. Fera … is adjusting well to being a big sister and the family group is adjusting so well, we couldn’t be happier.”

Pam, Ripley, Fera and the newborn live in the zoo’s Sanctuary Asia.

The François langur population primarily lives in the forests of China and Vietnam, where hunting and habitat destruction are major threats.

PEOPLE reached out to the Oklahoma City Zoo to see if the infant had been named yet, but did not receive an immediate response.