Twin Ring-Tailed Lemur Babies Born at UK Zoo, Monkeys as Small as Tennis Balls
According to the Daily Mail on March 24th, recently, a pair of adorable ring-tailed lemur twins were born at Chester Zoo in the UK. Ring-tailed lemurs are already endangered in the wild, so these two babies in the zoo are all the more precious.
The two little monkeys' mother is named Fiona, who is 7 years old, and her father is called Doug (Dog).
After a 135-day long pregnancy, Fiona gave birth to the two little guys, and since then, the two little guys have been clinging to their mother.
The two little monkeys are currently only about 15 centimeters tall, which is no bigger than a tennis ball with a tail for a hamster, according to the zoo’s animal keepers, their weight is estimated to be only a few hundred grams, and currently they haven’t weighed them, nor do they know the gender of the little monkeys, because lemur babies will tightly cling to their mother for the first few months after birth, and humans can’t separate them.
Ring-tailed lemurs have been listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The African island of Madagascar is the only place in the world where lemurs have ever been discovered. Currently, 90% of the island’s original forest cover has been lost, and lemurs have lost their important habitats, in addition to poaching and the rampant illegal pet trade, half of the lemurs have disappeared from the wild in the past 36 years.
Mike Jordan, Head of the Animal Conservation Department at Chester Zoo, introduced that ring-tailed lemurs are one of the most prioritized primate species to be protected on Earth, and they are very happy to see that two little lemurs were born in the zoo.
Jordan also introduced an interesting phenomenon, he said that lemur babies are covered in fur and have all the skin markings, such as the iconic black and white tail, just like adult lemurs, as soon as they are born.
(Like the panda cubs born in Germany)
Unlike lemurs, pandas, cats, and mice, lemur babies have little hair and their skin is almost bare when they are born.
(Picture)
Without a doubt, the birth of the twin lemur babies in the zoo has boosted the international lemur conservation breeding plan, and provides a greater possibility for this amazing species to continue.
(Picture)
However, Jordan also said that as the little lemurs start to crawl and jump independently in a few weeks, his team will face new challenges.
Source: DAILYMAIL, BING
Editor: Zhang Xiaohui
