New year, new hope

Staff at the Omega Parque in Monchique were delighted with their Christmas present: a very rare baby Sulawaesi macaque, or Macaca nirgra, born to mother Mee and proud father Bug. The Sulawaesi macaque is under extreme threat of extinction and the group at Omega Parque is part of the European endangered species breeding programme managed by Paighton Zoo in the UK. Only eight babies were recorded throughout the whole of Europe in 2002, so the Omega Parque baby, whose sex has not yet been established, will play an important role in the future survival of this endearing primate.