The birth of one of the world's rarest monkeys, a Francois' langur, was announced at an Australian zoo this week.

The tiny bright orange baby was found in the arms of its mother at the Taronga Conservation Society on Nov. 7, the zoo said in a statement Thursday. 

The monkey was named "Nangua," after the Mandarin word for pumpkin. The species is born with bright orange hair, but their coats turn black as they grow older.

Infants weigh between 0.45 and 0.5 kilograms at birth, but grow to weigh between 4.4 and 7.2 kilograms as adults.

The zoo said the tiny Francois' langur is carried by its mother about 50 per cent of the time. It has also begun to explore its rainforest-themed exhibit in its first week of life.

"He's still quite wobbly on his legs, but his head control is very strong and he's gripping and climbing well," the zoo's Senior Primate Keeper Jane Marshall said.

Also known as Francois' leaf monkeys, the species was once common in China and Vietnam. Their populations have dwindled due to poaching and habitat loss, and the monkeys are now among the world's rarest.