Getting cosy: the Joburg Zoo's baby lemur is doing well

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Baby Daryl gets ready to tuck into a piece of fruit

Zoo welcomes host of newborns More than 10 new babies have been born at the Johannesburg Zoo. But the black-and-white ruffed lemur, Daryl, has not been able to meet the public just yet. January 23, 2007 By Tabisa Mntengwana MOTHERS have been busy at the Johannesburg Zoo lately - its ranks have been swelled by more than 10 new babies, including a red lechwe, a nyala, a chimpanzee, a mona monkey, a Cameroon pygmy goat, a blue duiker and a sitatunga. But it's little Daryl, a baby lemur, who has been of concern to the zoo staff. Born two months ago, the tiny creature has been in hospital as its mother did not have enough milk for the newborn primate. "His mother couldn't feed him and the new baby suffered a lot. But he is recovering very well," says Althea Guinsberg, the zoo's curator of primates and reptiles. The newest zoo baby: Daryl, the lemur, with his mother The little primate was bottle-fed a mixture of milk and fruit, with the staff checking up on his weight every two days to make sure he gained. He is now able to feed himself bits of plants and fruit. Lemurs are indigenous to the island of Madagascar. The zoo has five types - six black-and-white ruffed lemurs, red-bellied lemurs, crowned lemurs, mouse lemurs, and ring-tailed lemurs. They live in trees and are always in family groups. They eat leaves, flowers and fruit and "can be considered mature at six months". Ruffed lemurs can weigh up to four kilograms. "The new baby lemur is strong and now weighs between 140 and 150 grams," Guinsberg adds. Ruffed lemurs' fur smells sweet and they identify their territory by rubbing their bodies on branches and leaving the scent on the foliage. They can live to be as old as 19 years. Lemurs communicate by means of a loud barking sound. "Lemurs can be noisy at times, but their sound just adds a nice atmosphere, especially with other animals around," Guinsberg says. "The baby lemur is not [in the public eye] at the moment [but he] will be once he is fully recovered." Permission to use web site material Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as: Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website (www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency (www.joburg.org.za)"; If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original article on this website; The name of the article's author is acknowledged; The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill in this brief online form). Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 Print this Page E-mail this article to a friend Help using Joburg.org.za