A new baby at a Devon zoo has been attracting a lot of attention – for all the wrong reasons.
The bald truth is that Reggie the hamadryas baboon has had his hair licked off with some excessive tender loving care by his mother.
Reggie was born at Paignton Zoo three weeks ago, weighing 18oz (510g) with a normal covering of hair.
A zoo spokesman said: “Mostly they’re born hairy and stay hairy, but in this case the mother has been over-zealous.”
Phil Knowling added: “It will grow back and he will be fine, but he is a baboon curiosity at the moment.”
The idea of changing Reggie’s name is being toyed with.
The youngster was initially named after the late Reggie Kray, but after a lot of head scratching and hair pulling, keepers think the baboon with the shiny pink head looks more like Gollum from Lord of the Rings.
The zoo has about 60 hamadryas baboons, which are native to north-east Africa and were considered sacred by the ancient Egyptians.
BBC NEWS | UK | England | Devon | Hair-raising surprise for baboon
