Endangered Crown Lemur Born at Lincoln Park Zoo

Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago proudly welcomed a baby crowned lemur on April 15. The sex and measurements of the lemur infant are still to be determined because mother Tucker is keeping her newborn close.

“With any birth, our animal care staff carefully monitors the new arrival to ensure they are passing critical milestones,” said Curator of Primates Maureen Leahy. “Tucker is an attentive and experienced mother and the infant is holding tight to her and regularly nursing, which is exactly what we’d hope to see.”

Baby crowned lemur

Lincoln Park Zoo welcomed a crowned lemur infant on April 15. Photo by Lincoln Park Zoo.

Crowned lemur baby and mother at Lincoln Park Zoo

Crowned lemur mama Tucker is keeping her baby tucked in safely. Photo by Lincoln Park Zoo.

In the wild, crowned lemurs inhabit the forests of Madagascar. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN), crowned lemurs are considered endangered due to forest loss caused by slash-and-burn practices, habitat fragmentation, charcoal production, mining and other human-wildlife conflict.

 

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Baby Ring-Tailed Lemurs at Busch Gardens

Awww! Busch Gardens Tampa recently welcomed three baby ring-tailed lemurs. First-time mother Canada gave birth to Squirt on March 19, and twins Schweps and Seagramms were born to Ginger on March 27.

Lemur mother and babies

Photo by Busch Gardens Tampa.

Lemur mother and baby

Photo by Busch Gardens Tampa.

See the adorable baby ring-tailed lemurs in the video below:

Ring-tailed lemurs are considered endangered by the IUCN Red List. The main threat to their population is habitat destruction. Much of their habitat is being converted to farmland or burned for the production of charcoal.

To learn more about ring-tailed lemurs, see our ring-tailed lemur facts article.

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Lincoln Park Zoo Welcomes Baby Crowned Lemur

Crowned lemur baby

Crowned lemur mama Tucker is keeping her baby close to her at Lincoln Park Zoo. Photo courtesy of Lincoln Park Zoo.

A baby crowned lemur was born on April 14 at Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago! Tucker, the mother, is keeping her newborn very close to her, so the gender and size of the baby have not been determined yet.

“Tucker is an experienced mother and the infant is healthy, nursing and growing,” said Curator of Primates Maureen Leahy. “We’re ecstatic to welcome our first crowned lemur infant who we hope will shed light on this threatened species.”

In the wild, lemurs inhabit the forests of Madagascar. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), crowned lemurs are considered threatened because of forest loss due to slash-and-burn practices, habitat fragmentation, charcoal production, mining and other environmental impacts from humans.

Learn more about the crowned lemur baby at the Lincoln Park Zoo website.

Crowned lemur

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Endangered Lemur Born at Maryland Zoo

Baby lemur

Baby sifaka at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore. Photo by Jeffrey F. Bill.

A little Coquerel’s sifaka (pronounced CAH-ker-rells she-FAHK — it’s a species of lemur) was born at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore on March 30. The newborn, named Max, resembled a tiny gremlin when born, with a bald black face, round yellow eyes, and pointy ears.  Now, the white fur has grown in, and Max resembles his parents, Ana and Gratian.

Coquerel's sifaka

For the first month, baby Coquerel’s sifaka ride on their mother’s bellies, and then transition to riding on their mother’s backs. Carey Ricciardone, mammal collection and conservation manager at the Maryland Zoo said of Max: “By the end of April, he will begin to sample solid food and crawl on Ana’s back periodically and he should begin to venture a few feet away from her by six to eight weeks of age.”

In the wild, Coquerel’s sifaka live solely on the island of Madagascar, which is off the southeastern coast of Africa. They spend most of their lives in the treetops in two protected areas in the sparse dry, deciduous forests on the northwestern side of the island. As with many species of lemur, Coquerel’s sifaka are endangered, threatened by deforestation.

Sifaka have a very interesting way of moving on land. Here’s a video of some of them leaping!

For more information and photos of the baby sifaka, see the Maryland Zoo at Baltimore’s website.

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Baby Animals of 2011

There were so many adorable baby animals born in 2011.  Here are a few highlights:

Baldest Baby: This baby aardvark was born at Busch Gardens Tampa on April 10, 2011. He was hand-reared by zookeepers because his mother was neglecting him.


Oldest Mother:
Five Santa Cruz Galapagos tortoise hatchlings were born on November 15  to a century-old tortoise in a South Carolina zoo after she hid the eggs from zookeepers for months.
Galapagos tortoise hatchling at South Carolina zoo


Best Gremlin Impersonator:
The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore welcomed a male baby Coquerel’s sifaka on November 12 and named him Nero. Sifakas are a kind of lemur who move by leaping through trees or side-hopping on the ground.
Baby sifaka at Maryland zoo


Roundest Face:
A pair of red pandas were born at the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston, MA on July 4. In the wild, red pandas inhabit bamboo forests in China, the Himalyas, and Myanmar.
Red panda baby at Boston zoo


Unlikely Friends:
An 8-week-old cheetah (born in February) was paired with a 16-week-old yellow lab at Busch Gardens Tampa. The two adolescents became great pals.
Cheetah cub and puppy friends


Most Smiley:
A dolphin calf was born on July 26th at SeaWorld Orlando. Here he is bonding with his mother.
Dolphin mother and calf


Whitest Kiwi:
Two rare all-white kiwis were born this year at Pukaha Mount Bruce National Wildlife Center in New Zealand.  Manukura was born in May and was the first of its kind born in captivity.  Mauriora was born in December. The two white kiwis are North Island brown kiwis who carry a rare white gene. They are not albinos.
White kiwi

Hope you enjoyed our roundup of amazing animal babies of 2011. Happy New Year!

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Baby Lemurs Born at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay

A pair of red-ruffed lemurs have been born at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. The two were born on April 21st of this year to Maditra and Bozeny, who have lived at the zoo for 3 years. The babies are still too young to have their gender identified and they have not been given names yet. Once full-grown they will weigh between 8-10 lbs.

Read about the red-ruffed lemur’s cousin the ring-tailed lemur at Animal Fact Guide.

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Nevada Zoo Welcomes Ring-tailed Lemur Baby

The Roos-N-More Zoo in Nevada has been surprised by the birth of a ring-tailed lemur baby. The zoo staff was not aware the mother, named Morocco, was pregnant. The baby has been named Marques and it’s gender is not known yet. The staff believes Marques is a girl, but they cannot confirm that yet. For now Marques is clinging to her mother’s chest, allowing a few glimpses of her tiny black and white ringed tail.

All species of lemur are endangered, so this birth will help maintain the current population.

Read more about Marques at RGJ.com.

Read more about the ring-tailed lemur at Animal Fact Guide.

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