There's a new attraction at Port Lympne Wild Animal Park, near Hythe, with the arrival of a new addition to the primate family.

A baby Diana monkey, yet to be named, was born to its mother Angie, aged 19, by caesarean section after a difficult labour at the Hythe animal park.

Mum Angie did not show the usual maternal instincts in looking after the latest addition to her family so Simon Jeffery, Head of the Primate section at Port Lympne, decided the baby’s best chance of survival was to hand rear him.

Angie and her mate, Nemo, are an established pair. She arrived from Chessington 12 years ago and Nemo, now 16, was born at Port Lympne.

The new arrival is their eighth offspring.

The Diana monkey comes from the genus of guenons and is one of the most endangered monkeys in the world.

It is hunted for its flesh, fur and for the pet trade, and its habitat is under constant threat from deforestation.

In response to this situation, 24 European zoos have set up a co-operative breeding programme housing more than 80 animals. Around the world, the international studbook lists approximately 200 Diana monkeys, most of them captive-bred.

The Diana monkey is a beautiful primate species, with a dark back and tail, white under-parts, a chestnut rump, a white beard and a distinctive white crescent on the forehead which gives the species its name, Diana after the Roman goddess of the moon. Its well developed facial muscles play an important role in its social behaviour.

Diana female monkeys give birth to a single young. Like humans, monkeys are born with their eyes open. They stay with their mothers constantly and continue to nurse for several months following birth. They mature at four to five years old.

Monkey business

Latin name: Cercopithecus

Genus: guenons - this group of monkeys include some of the most colourful monkeys.

They are medium to large monkeys, mainly tree-dwelling and fruit-eating and play an important part in forest regeneration by helping to disperse the seeds of the fruits they eat.

They have cheek pouches which in some species may hold almost as much food as the stomach. When feeding in a crowded or dangerous place an animal can quickly cram these pouches before retiring to eat at leisure.

These monkeys eat fruits, flowers, young leaves and insects.