This post was written by Lynn Killam

On the 20th of July, the Houston zoo primate staff celebrated the birth of twin infant Ring-tailed lemurs, after observing the mother giving birth on exhibit in the middle of the day. This is fairly unusual, for most primate babies are born overnight and found first thing in the morning by the keepers. Zoo guests were also privileged to witness this event, and an intrepid photographer captured the moment on film, as proud papa “Tango” looked on.  One of the infants was robust and began nursing right away, but one sadly looked weak and seemed unable to suckle. Mother “Cairrean” made valiant efforts to get the infant in the right spot to nurse, but once we got them inside, it was evident that the baby was in real trouble. We intervened immediately: vets gave fluids and warmed the infant, and after trying to get it to latch onto mom and nurse to no avail, we had staff members stay overnight, feeding it every hour and a half. Unfortunately, this time, the hard work did not pay off, for the infant lost its battle the next morning.

Cairrean after giving birth on the lemur exhibit. Photo by Kathryn Hughes

Dad Tango watches as mama cares for newborn infants. Photo by Kathryn Hughes

What we know about lemurs in the wild is that twins and even triplets are not uncommon, but mortality is high, sometimes over 50%. In a zoo setting, we can use veterinary and keeper staff intervention to try to save a failing infant, but even then we occasionally do not succeed, despite best efforts.

The happy part of this tale is that the surviving infant is thriving: healthy and clinging from the moment of birth; it has been a trouper. With bright, wide-open eyes gleaming, the baby has been grasping mom with all the strength and tenacity of a tiny octopus as she leaps through the branches and trees on exhibit. Cairrean has been extensively grooming the baby: licking its head, washing its face and stretching out a wayward hand or foot to delicately clean each tiny finger or toe with her grooming teeth (also known as a dental comb.)

Cairrean and 4 day old infant. Photo by Stephanie Adams

On the island of Madagascar, each lemur birth is important because all lemurs are suffering the consequences of human interference from logging for rosewood and other illegal hardwoods to slash and burn agriculture, poaching for bushmeat and the pet trade. As conservationists work to teach the value of the lemurs to the forest ecosystem, time is ticking away and the lemurs are disappearing. We are hopeful that our new little ring-tailed baby can help to be an ambassador for his species and teach Houstonians more about our prosimian relatives!

Cairrean grooms sire Tango as infant watches. Photo by Stephanie Adams

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