Five ring-tailed lemurs pups are born in Fota

Fota Wildlife Park has announced the arrival of five ring-tailed lemur pups to its free-roaming troop.

Classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, this species faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.

The recent spring births at Fota Wildlife Park mark a significant success in the park’s endangered species breeding programme, increasing the total number of ring-tailed lemurs in the troop to 18.

DC, a four-year-old female, delivered a single infant on April 1. On the same day, her eight-year-old aunt Brida gave birth to twins. On April 2, Aqua, Brida’s sister and DC’s mother, delivered her third set of twins.

All five newborns were sired by Merlot, a five-year-old male who was transferred to Fota Wildlife Park from Parc Zoo du Reynou, France, in 2022 under an international breeding recommendation.

Fota Wildlife Park is home to and actively involved in two endangered lemur breeding programmes. Studies suggest that there has been a 95% reduction in the wild population of ring-tailed lemurs since 1990, with 3,000 ring-tailed lemurs remaining in the wild.

Teresa Power, lead ranger at Fota Wildlife Park said that welcoming five new arrivals in just two days speaks volumes about the health and vitality of their group.

She added: 

“The babies can be easily spotted clinging to their mothers as they explore Palm Walk. Our visitors associate this free roaming species with Fota Wildlife Park and they are huge favourite with the visiting public.

“However, as a conservation charity, this is an opportunity to help raise awareness about the threats to biodiversity on their native Island of Madagascar, which is the home to all species of lemurs.

“The island of Madagascar has lost 90% of its forest cover in the last 200 years which has resulted in 80% of its animal and plant life being in danger of extinction.”

Fota Wildlife Park is inviting the public to help name their young ring-tailed lemurs, whose genders are unknown, for a chance to win one of five family day passes. Name suggestions can be submitted on the Fota website and should either be inspired by the lemurs’ natural home of Madagascar or carry a meaningful connection to the species.