NANNING, July 11 (Xinhua) -- A newborn Francois' leaf monkey has been raised in captivity for more than two months in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, marking the survival of the eighth generation of the endangered animal species bred artificially.

The male monkey was born prematurely on April 15 in the Francois' leaf monkey breeding center in the city of Wuzhou.

Chen Weiqiang, a keeper at the center, said that although the infant monkey is not as strong as its age peers, it is in good health. Keepers can feed it red dates as a supplement to mother's milk.

The center was founded in 1991 to raise and breed the black langur artificially as part of efforts to expand the population of the species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature red list.

"After more than 40 years, we have propagated eight generations of the rare species. We must continue to do a good job in breeding and protecting the black langur," said Li Yifeng, deputy director of the center.

Francois' langurs are found in China's Guangxi, Guizhou and Chongqing, and the northern mountain areas of Vietnam. Enditem