A rare newborn langur, or leaf monkey, met the public in a safari park in Guangzhou recently. The golden furry infant, which was named Elephant, was born on Aug 12. The population of the species is estimated at 1,800 to 2,000, including 1,700 in China. [Photo by Zheng Erqi/chinadaily.com.cn]

A rare newborn langur, or leaf monkey (Trachypithecus francoisi) met the public in a safari park in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, on Thursday.

The golden furry female, which was named Elephant, was born on Aug 12 — World Elephant Day.

Protected by her sister, 3-year-old Duanwu; her mother, Huanhuan; and her father, Wenwen, Elephant has yet to be weighed. Her fur will naturally turn black in two to three months. The mother is receiving an enriched diet for her own health and that of her baby.

In the wild, the protected langurs live in the tropical and subtropical forests of Chongqing, as well as in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, Guizhou and Sichuan provinces and northeastern Vietnam.

The global population of the species is estimated at 1,800 to 2,000, including 1,700 in China, where they are under top-level protection.