Zagreb Zoo

Date: 28.03.2011.

Our family group of eight Ring-tailed Lemurs added another member. The baby lemur was born on the 6th of February 2011.The little Ring-tailed Lemur spent its first days on its mom’s back holding on tight with its little hands. However, from time to time, other females called “nannies” can also help with the baby. After a little over a month, the little one started to explore and is trying to make its first steps.

The female gives birth to one, rarely two, young that weighs between 50 - 80 grams. The baby feeds on mom’s milk for about 6 months, and is sexually mature at 15 months. For now, the baby at our zoo is too young to determine its sex. It is interesting that the Ring-tailed Lemur babies have blue eyes that change to yellow over time.

Ring-tailed Lemurs (Lemur catta) are one of 22 species of lemurs that live on the island of Madagascar. They are diurnal animals that live in lowland forests, anthropogenic savannahs (created by human influence after deforestation) and even at rocky canyons. They spend equal amount of time on the ground and in the trees.

Ring-tailed Lemurs are near threatened (NT). The biggest threat is habitat loss and hunting.

See the month old baby in this short video.