Twin endangered ring-tailed lemurs born at Chester Zoo

Ring tailed lemurs, native to Madagascar, are ‘one of the planet’s highest primate conservation priorities’.

Published Mar 24, 2020

Twin endangered ring-tailed lemurs have been born at a UK zoo.

They were born to mother Fiona and father Dog at Chester Zoo on March 2 and have just begun to venture outside.

Twin ring-tailed lemurs — The babies were born earlier this month and have just begun to venture outside (Chester Zoo)

“Wonderfully, youngsters are born just like miniature adults and already have all of their fur markings, including their iconic black and white tails which they use to help identify one another.”

The twins are 15cm tall and weigh just a few hundred grams, described as being “no bigger than tennis balls with tails”.

A baby ring-tailed lemur clings to its mum — The sex of the babies is not yet known (Chester Zoo)

Lemurs are found in the wild only on the island of Madagascar, where mass deforestation has destroyed much of their natural habitat.

According to experts, the population of wild lemurs is thought to have decreased by about half in the last 36 years.

Twin ring-tailed lemurs cling to their mum — The population of ring-tailed lemurs in the wild is though to have shrunk by half in the last 36 years (Chester Zoo)

“In these unsettling times, the arrival of such endangered babies really does help to raise a smile.”