Ring tail lemur

Conservation Status: Vulnerable

There are less than 100,000 Ring-Tailed Lemurs left in the wild, and with a zoo population of around 1,000 their conservation status is classed as ‘Vulnerable’. In 2002 a reserve was established in South West Madagascar to protect their tropical forest habitat.

Ring-Tails are herbivores, feeding on a diet of fruits, flowers and leaves, and the odd insect. They live in family groups - females remain in their birth group, but males often leave when they reach maturity. Females start to breed from around the age of two.

Young weigh as little as 60g at birth and take a year to become independent. Watch them walking around, and you’ll notice how they carry their tails aloft.