More lemurs sprung this spring

There’s a few more lemurs up to mischief in Cork.

Five ring-tailed lemur pups have been welcomed into the Fota Wildlife Park family to its free-roaming troop. Over a two-day period, three adult females, DC, Brida, and Aqua, each gave birth. DC, a four year old female and mother to one year old Kirby, delivered a single infant on 1 April. On the same day, her eight year old aunt Brida gave birth to twins. Brida has previously produced two offspring, Bosoa and St Pat, the latter named after her St Patrick’s Day birth.

On 2 April, Aqua, Brida’s sister and DC’s mother, delivered her third set of twins. Since her arrival at Fota, Aqua has demonstrated consistent reproductive success, with earlier offspring including Malbec, Shiraz, Pinot, and Grigio. Her maternal care continues to support the development and wellbeing of her expanding lineage.

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. Merlot has since established himself as the dominant breeding male within the troop and he can often be spotted basking in the sun or socialising with other members of the group.

These lemurs are classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), 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 eighteen.

Lemurs are endemic to the island of Madagascar. 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. Fota Wildlife Park is home to and actively involved in two endangered lemur breeding programmes, for ring-tailed and black-and-white lemurs.

Teresa Power, Lead Ranger at Fota Wildlife Park, said: “To welcome five new arrivals in just two days speaks volumes about the health and vitality of our breeding group. 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. This has resulted in 80% of its animal and plant life being in danger of extinction.”