Pretoria - The Pretoria Zoo has announce the birth of a ring-tailed lemur.
The zoo confiscated four ring-tailed lemurs three months ago, barely two months after the mum became pregnant and gave birth to a healthy baby.
Madagascan ring-tailed lemurs are highly social primates and can live in large groups run by a matriarch.
The Pretoria Zoo has only four ring-tailed lemurs, two males and two females, and they’re now joined by the recent addition.
Conservation team leader at Pretoria Zoo, Oratile Mohajane, said the baby was born recently and all at the facility were proud and happy.
However, the baby is still growing at the zoo’s veterinarian hospital and will only be able to join the others in an enclosure when fully grown in two years’ time.
At the moment, the baby is “very healthy” as it is able to cling well to the mother and drinks milk normally during nursing, she said.
“Ring-tailed lemurs are an endangered species outside captivity because they suffer from deforestation and poaching, that is why we keep them in the enclosure to protect them.
“They live up to 15 years, but they differ from other lemurs as they spend more of their time on the ground, they also like to sunbathe in the mornings to warm themselves up.”
Ring-tailed lemurs get their name from their impressively long and fluffy tails. Their tails help them keep balance when running or jumping and can act as a flag to keep a group together.
“We have different kinds of lemurs here at the zoo. We’e excited for our zoo community to learn all about these charismatic animals and how we can help protect their habitat.”
Mohajane said the lemurs like playing and enjoy seeing people around.
They feed on fruits, leaves and vegetables, and eat twice a day. In the morning the zoo serves them boiled vegetables, then during the day they eat fruits.
“When lemurs celebrate the arrival of a new baby they make markings, jump upside down and scream, then give the mother space to be with the baby.
“They are primates and very sensitive, therefore we give them a high standard of hygiene and healthy food enriched with vitamins,” said Mohajane.
Pretoria News