RARE orange-haired monkey

A rare orange-haired monkey has made her debut at a zoo – after being rejected by her mum.

Elka, a Francois Langur monkey, is being hand-raised by staff who showed her off at Taronga Zoo in Sydney.

Elka's birth five days ago was a surprise to zoo keepers who weren't sure mum, Saigon, was even pregnant.

Staff will now look for a new temporary home for the orange-haired leaf-eating monkey because she's all alone.

Elka's parents have black fur but it is thought the infant's orange colour helps parents to spot them in the wild.

Senior primate keeper Mandy Mclellan said: "Primates are quite an intelligent group of animals, a lot of their social development depends on learning.

"Often first time mums might not have have enough exposure to other females giving birth so they haven't learned social skills and haven't learned what they need to do with these little babies."

Keepers will raise Elka, feeding her baby formula every three hours, and prepare her for eventual reintroduction to her parents.

Her species is very rare in the wild and under great pressure from loss of habitat and poachers.

It is thought there could be as few as 1,000 left in Vietnam and China.

Taronga's life sciences general manager, Cameron Kerr, said: "Taronga's keepers were prepared and are managing the difficult process of hand-raising the langur...as the species faces real risk of extinction in the wild."