Love is . . . having a teddy to snuggle up to when your mother has abandoned you.

When an extremely rare newborn monkey was deserted by its mother, keepers bought it a teddy bear to act as comforter and surrogate mum.

The white-naped mangabey is among the most endangered primates in the world and the birth at London Zoo was a red-letter day for the international captive breeding programme. It was born three weeks ago by Caesarean section and the mother, who was seriously ill for several days, was unable to care for the newborn, named Conchita.

Keepers had to step in to feed the baby mangabey but were anxious to avoid a repeat of the experience in Germany where the close association of Knut the polar bear with a keeper prompted accusations that its natural behaviour was altered. Allowing the mangabey to think of humans as its parents could have prevented it from socialising successfully with its own species as it grew up, so the soft toy was introduced.

The teddy bear was put into the enclosure to be the newborn’s surrogate mother, albeit a static one, and the purchase has proved so successful that they are now inseparable.

“She hugs that bear day and night,” said Andrea Payne, the keeper in charge of caring for the baby. “She will run to the bear when she’s alarmed. She won’t run to me. She clamps on to it just like she would her mother.

“The teddy bear is now a bit poo-ey and smelly but to the baby it is her own special smell which reassures the animal. The baby recognises the smell, it’s a comfort to her. Washing the teddy would make it unrecognisable.”

The teddy had to be selected with care by Ms Payne who spent two days “trudging round every shop I could find” until a suitable toy was found. It had to be the right size, robust and contain harmless fibres that would endure plenty of sucking and chewing. A suitable bear was finally found at Hamleys.

Zoo staff hope to be able to reintroduce the baby to its mother over the next few weeks and to allow it to join the three adult white-naped mangabeys - Cercocebus atys lunulatus - in an enclosure.

Ms Payne is hopeful that a reunion with the mother, Leonie, and father, Lucky, will go smoothly, and the signs are encouraging. “The mother is beginning to show an interest again and the dad is showing the most interest of all, watching her play and being fed,” she said.

White-naped mangabeys were once plentiful in Ghana, West Africa, but are now classified as critically endangered, with only a few thousand surviving due to loss of habitat, the pet trade and bushmeat hunting.

Conchita, only the second white-naped mangabey to be born in Britain, was described as “a beacon of hope” by staff at the Zoological Society of London, which runs London Zoo. Malcolm Fitzpatrick, curator of mammals, said: “White-naped mangabeys are one of the most endangered species of primate in the world. Any future they have in the wild lies with conservationists being able to learn more about them, which is why the captive populations are so important. Conchita’s birth is vitally important and we had to make sure she survived.”

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