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First birth of 2022 at AquaZoo: zoo welcomes white-faced lemur
AquaZoo is celebrating the first birth of the year: a tiny white-faced lemur. The monkey was born Saturday and is doing well.
The white-faced lemur is a small species of monkey found in the tropical rain forest in South America, including in Suriname and surrounding countries. "Because they are still found in many places, their official status is 'not endangered,'" says chief zookeeper William Kreijkes. "Unfortunately, we can't say they are doing very well either. The tropical rainforest is under a lot of pressure because of a lot of forest clearing. Also, the lemurs are being hunted for their meat."
Management Program
Therefore, there is a European management program for this animal species. The goal of this program is to ensure healthy populations in European zoos that can serve as reserve populations for the animals in the wild.
White-faced lemurs, which are 32 to 40 centimeters long and weigh 1.5 to 2 kilograms, get their name from the color of the male's face. Females have only two white stripes along the nose. The animals live on fruits, seeds, nuts, young leaves and insects. They can live to be about 15 years old. Young are born after a gestation period of five months.
Healthy population
AquaZoo currently houses four animals of this species: the parents, a two-year-old sister and the newborn. At the Frisian zoo, the monkeys share the enclosure with the Azara agouti, pinché monkey and two-fingered sloth.
The big sister will soon move to another zoo as part of the management program. Kreijkes: "It is very nice that we can contribute in this way to maintaining a healthy population of this monkey species."
Kreijkes hopes that visitors themselves will be able to stop by AquaZoo again soon and see the newest addition for themselves. "We can't wait until visitors can admire the little one too," Kreijkes said.
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