New baby lemur delights at Heidelberg Zoo – a rare sight!

New baby lemur delights at Heidelberg Zoo – a rare sight!

Animal lovers can look forward to a new, cute resident at Heidelberg Zoo: a young crowned lemur was born at the beginning of May 2023. This little bundle of energy now shows off to visitors after a long cuddle with his mother. Despite his curiosity, the little animal always remains under the supervision of his caring mother. The first steps into the big, wide world have been taken and the little animal goes on courageous exploration tours - a completely normal behavior that goes hand in hand with the characteristic hopping of the crowned lemur, which is already easy to recognize. Over 70% of the animals and plants in Madagascar are endemic, which makes the young births in the zoo all the more important as many lemur species are critically endangered. Heidelberg Zoo reports this in a current article here.

The animal keeper Dominik Winkel emphasized how crucial the undisturbed time is for the young mother. Mother and young animal spent this first bonding time in a comfortably furnished sleeping box, which was specially created to create a harmonious nesting feeling. The little maki cub is carried close to its stomach for the first few weeks and later also on its mother's back. While the little animal makes its first independent trips into the climbing area of ​​the enclosure, the mother always remains vigilant and keeps an eye on her offspring.

Species protection for lemurs

A look beyond the zoo's boundaries shows how important it is to protect lemurs in Madagascar. The country is home to an impressive 110+ lemur species, with 95% of them threatened with extinction reports the Species Protection Foundation. Human activities such as slash-and-burn agriculture and deforestation have destroyed over 80% of the original forest cover and significantly restricted the habitats of these fascinating primates. That is why the zoo director's commitment to the conservation breeding programs is particularly important.

As part of an international project, a team is studying the influence of threat factors on 13 lemur species in Ranomafana National Park, where modern methods such as setting up camera traps are being used to collect data on animal populations. These studies are intended to provide important information relevant to the conservation of these species. The project is supported by the Augsburg Zoo, among others.

Protected areas in Madagascar

Madagascar is not only known for its lemurs, but also for its important nature reserves. The island has a total of 143 protected areas, covering an area of ​​over 9.6 million hectares, which is approximately the size of Hungary. The Madagascar National Parks (MNP) organization manages 43 of these areas reports the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. However, support is needed here because MNP is struggling with challenges such as insufficient staff and resources.

In order to protect biodiversity and take into account the needs of the local population, part of the money invested in nature conservation is also used to train rangers and build park infrastructure. The intact natural cycles are crucial for the villages around the national parks, as they secure water and fish stocks, for example. This creates a win-win situation: local residents benefit from the preservation of their landscapes and the resulting ecotourism.

With its breeding initiative, Heidelberg Zoo is helping to secure the crowned lemurs and thus also the lemur species in their homeland. Concern for the future of lemurs is not only reflected in breeding in the zoo, but also in the global species conservation projects that are urgently needed to counteract the threat of species extinction.