ONE of the world’s rarest primates has been successfully bred in West Oxfordshire.

Biggles, a purple-faced langur, was born at Cotswold Wildlife Park, near Burford, to first-time parents Bottom and Lily.

The birth came weeks after the World Conservation Union listed the species, which is normally found only in Sri Lanka, as one of the 25 most globally threatened primates in the world Park curator, Jamie Craig, hailed the news as fantastic. He said: “We are delighted to have a first successful breeding at the park of this delicate species, after what seemed like the longest-ever pregnancy.

“Keepers even entered a sweepstake for the birth date, but all were way out as she held on for another couple of months.”

Purple-faced langurs are endangered, because they are primarily tree-dwelling, leaf-eating monkeys, living in one of the most densely populated areas of the country. Habitat destruction is the main cause of declining numbers, and an estimated 80 per cent of all purple-faced langurs have been wiped out in just three generations.

Large primate keeper, Mark Vercoe, said: “We named him Biggles because we thought it was a nice tribute given he was born on Remembrance Day.

“We would have chosen Poppy if it had been a girl.”

Picture: Steve Wheeler