MELISSA is a very happy Colobus monkey at Marwell Zoological Park after her dream came true and she gave birth.

Last year Melissa had to watch while another monkey in her enclosure, Bobo, proudly cuddled her own baby called Ebony.

Keepers at the park, which has an international reputation for their endangered animal-breeding programme, could tell Melissa really wanted a baby of her own and now her wish has come true.

Bobo was generous and let Melissa hold baby Ebony and do some babysitting, so Melissa was used to babies when her own offspring arrived on February 2.

The baby is a female and has been named Sapele, which is a West African hard wood tree that grows in the natural habitat of Colobus monkeys.

It is also the name of a river along which wood is transported.

Marwell has the Western black and white Colobus, which is a sub-species of the black and white Colobus.

Sadly, these monkeys are declining in the wild because they are hunted for their beautiful fur and for their meat, while their habitat is also under threat.