The Duke Lemur Center is proud to announce the births of two Blue-eyed Black Lemurs, one male – Hiddleston – and one female – Poots. Like many species in this genus, these lemurs are sexually dichromatic, meaning the the males and females are different colors (black and reddish brown respectively).

Named for actor Tom Hiddleston, Hiddleston was born to mother West and father Hopkins on March 24, 2013. He weighed a healthy 82 grams at birth. Poots, named for Imogen Poots, was born on March 27, 2013, to parents Margaret and Tarantino. Poots weighed 92 grams at birth. West and Margaret are first-time mothers, and both are doing a fantastic job with their new little ones.

The successful births of Hiddleston and Poots contribute a great deal to the conservation of this species. The Duke Lemur Center currently houses North America’s only breeding females of Blue-eyed Black lemurs: West, Margaret and Foster. These females hold the key to the conservation of this species of lemur because of dramatic habitat loss in the wild and the limited breeding population in captivity. With expert care (and some very handsome Blue-eyed Black Lemur males), DLC is hoping for many more babies in the future to continue to preserve these rare, beautiful lemurs.

Photos of Hiddleston (the reddish little guy) by David Haring. Photos of Poots (the lighter little guy in the first and last photos) Fallon Owens