Newquay Zoo welcomes a rare crowned lemur baby

We are celebrating the birth of a baby crowned lemur, which is an endangered species.

Born on 24th June to mum Beloha and dad Xavier, the little one is progressing well and will cling tightly onto mum’s back or stomach for the next 5-6 months.

The youngster is now one of 4 crowned lemurs at our zoo, alongside mum, dad and brother Boingy, who was born in June last year.

Currently our keepers do not know whether the baby is a boy or a girl.

Senior primate keeper Danielle Wilkins said:

“It is difficult to determine which sex they are when they are infants, especially as they stay very close to mum.

As they develop with age, males and females can be differentiated through their colouration. Females are predominantly light grey with a pale orange crown and males are reddish brown with an orange and black crown.”

Crowned lemurs are classified as an endangered species, with numbers in the wild decreasing. This primate is under threat from habitat loss by forest fires, cultivation, logging and development, which has affected their native range in Madagascar. This makes the arrival of this little one even more special as it’s a great contribution to the conservation of this species.