Langur

Francois' langur or Francois' leaf monkey (Trachypithecus francoisi) is a species of lutung and the type species of its species group. Francois' langur belongs to the Colobinae subfamily, Cercopithecidae family, in the Primates order. Of all of the colobine species, Francois' langur is the least studied of all of the species.

The species is distributed from Southwestern China to northeastern Vietnam. Before 1990, Francois' Langur could be found in 23 different countries with a total population size of 2,000-2,500 individuals. There has been a dramatic decline in the population size by approximately 85% since then, making this species that of very high priority to potential extinction. The total number of wild individuals is unknown, but there are believed to be less than 500 left in Vietnam and 1,400-1,650 in China. There are only about 60 langurs in captivity in North American zoos.

The Mesker Park Zoo in Evansville, Indiana, has made headlines for its success in breeding the rare monkey. The zoo received two females, Liang and Sai, in November 2003 from the San Diego Zoo. Each gave birth to a son in August 2006. The father came from the Cincinnati Zoo in December 2005. In February 2008 Liang gave birth to a female.

The Memphis Zoo, located in Midtown Memphis, Tennessee, is home to more than 3,500 animals representing over 500 different species. Created in April 1906, the zoo has been a major tenant of Overton Park for more than 100 years. The land currently designated to the Memphis Zoo was defined by the Overton Park master plan in 1988, it is owned by the City of Memphis. The zoo is set on 76 acres (31 ha), of which approximately 55 acres (22 ha) are developed.

In 2008, the Memphis Zoo was ranked "#1 Zoo in the U.S." by TripAdvisor.com. The ranking was based on visitor opinions.

Since the early 1990s, the Memphis Zoo has invested over $77 million for renovation and expansion. The zoo's animal inhabitants reside in three zones with 19 exhibits, such as Teton Trek, Northwest Passage and China, home to Giant Pandas Ya Ya and Le Le

The Memphis Zoo is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).

Colobinae (also called Leaf Monkey) is a subfamily of the Old World monkey family that includes 59 species in 10 genera, including the skunk-like black-and-white colobus, the large-nosed proboscis monkey, and the gray langurs. Some classifications split the colobine monkeys into two tribes, while others split them into three groups. Both classifications put the three African genera Colobus, Piliocolobus, and Procolobus in one group; these genera are distinct in that they have a stub thumb. The various Asian genera are placed into another one or two groups. Analysis of mtDNA confirms that the Asian species form two distinct groups, one of langurs and the other of the "odd-nosed" species, but suggests that the gray langurs are not closely related to either.

A primate ( /ˈpraɪmeɪt/ US dict: prī′·māt) is a mammal of the order Primates (/praɪˈmeɪtiːz/ US dict: prī·mā′·tēz; Latin: "prime, first rank"), which contains prosimians and simians. Primates arose from ancestors that lived in the trees of tropical forests; many primate characteristics represent adaptations to life in this challenging three-dimensional environment. All but a few primate species remain at least partly arboreal.