Bright-Eyed Ring-Tailed Lemur Babies
June 02, 2011
Two fuzzy, bright-eyed ring-tailed lemurs were born on Saturday, May 14, 2011 at Bioparc Valencia in Spain. Within a few hours, early morning visitors to their habitat could see them clinging to their mother's belly. This is the third set of babies for their ten year old mom, who has been at Bioparc Valencia since 2007. Ring-tail lemur babies usually spend their first two weeks of life grasping their mother's abdomen before they switch to riding on her back.
Photo credits: Bioparc Valencia
The ring-tailed lemurs' conservation status for this primate species is "Vulnerable", mainly due to the all- too-common loss of their habitat by deforestation and human settlements. The species shot to fame after the 2005 animated movie called Madagascar, which featured a ring-tailed lemur named Julian. So while not the most threatened on their island, they are very important because their species serves a flagship role.