The Calgary Zoo has released pictures of its newest addition, a baby lemur.
The zoo says its four-year-old female black-and-white ruffed lemur, Eny, gave birth on April 7. The pup’s father is eight-year-old Menabe. The gender of the pup has not been confirmed but the Calgary Zoo says the pup appears bright-eyed and active and is on the move.
The black-and-white ruffed lemur is registered among the 25 most endangered primates in the world, due mostly to habitat loss and hunting.
The Calgary Zoo has a Species Survival Plan (SSP), which seeks to appropriately manage the demographic distribution and support the long-term sustainability of a species at risk. Eny and Menabe were paired to maximize the genetic diversity of the critically endangered black-and-white ruffed lemur population in human care.
Menabe arrived at the Calgary Zoo in 2017 and the search for an appropriate female commenced. The task to find a mate for Menabe ended when Eny was found at an accredited zoo in the Czech Republic. She arrived in Calgary in 2021.
The new pup is the first black-and-white ruffed lemur to be born at the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo since 1987.
According to the Calgary Zoo, black-and-white ruffed lemurs originate from the island of Madagascar, where there are fewer than 10,000 individuals estimated to be left in their native range on the island. A staggering 98 per cent of lemurs in Madagascar are endangered, with over 30 per cent facing the threat of imminent extinction.
“With black-and-white ruffed lemurs being critically endangered in the wild, this pup already plays an important role in the survival and well-being of its species,” said Typhenn Brichieri-Colombi, conservation research and strategy advisor at the Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo.
The public cannot visit Eny, Menabe and the pup just yet, as the new family unit will bond behind the scenes. The Calgary Zoo will announce when the pup is making its first appearance. The outdoor Land of Lemurs walkthrough will reopen to the public on Friday, May 19.
Comments