Three rare lemurs born in Prague Zoo are being seen as a beacon of hope for a breeding programme.
The critically endangered white-belted ruffed lemurs were born on April 22 and have been doing well, said David Vala, the zoo’s chief primate curator, indicating the programme is on the right track.
He said: “We haven’t won yet, but we already have the most difficult period behind us.”
New pictures show the tiny animals exploring their enclosure and eating fruit.
One of the difficulties in breeding this lemur subspecies is that the females can only become pregnant on one day a year.
In addition, mothers tend to completely neglect their babies.
That was the case twice before with Fania, the mother of the three pups who have yet to be named.
There are only 88 similar lemurs in captivity. Around 10,000 live in the wild in their native Madagascar, down by 80% in the last 21 years.
