Continuing Education and Conservation: Wildwood Wildlife Park Lemur Exhibit

The zoo may be closed for the season but that doesn’t mean that we’ve been hibernating waiting for spring. If you’ve driven by the zoo lately you know that nothing could be farther from the truth! We can’t wait for spring to show off the new and exciting changes at Wildwood Wildlife Park.

We’ve got that reputation among our zoo members and visitors that there is always something New at the Zoo. Today we take you on a behind the scenes look at the new lemur house.

Did you know all species of lemurs are native to Madagascar?

Wildwood Wildlife Park is fortunate to house four different species: the Ring-Tailed Lemur, the Brown Lemur, the Red Ruffed Lemur and the Black and White Lemur.

The Red Ruffed and the Black and White are two species of ruffed lemurs named for the “ruff” of long hair that runs from the ears along the cheeks to beneath their chin. Ruffed lemurs are the largest of the lemurs - about the size of a large house cat. 

The name “lemur” comes from the Latin word for “ghost.” Lemurs communicate with each other using a complex system of at least 12 different vocalizations. These vocalizations can be low grunts, gurgling sounds or a cackle like roar. It’s no wonder that the first people to hear the loud calls of a lemur thought they were ghosts in the forest!

Can you guess the favorite food of the lemur? If you guess fruit - you’re right! But they also eat other food including leaves, flowers, buds and fungi. When the lemurs aren’t foraging for their food in the treetops you’ll find them dangling from their arms or legs to get to a hard-to-reach treat if they can’t get it from a standing position.

When a female lemur is ready to give birth she begins making a nest - in the wild the nest can be high up in a tree usually 60 to 80 feet from the ground. Would you be surprised to know that baby ruffed lemurs don’t cling to their mothers: the mom thinks it is time to move her baby, she carries him or her in her mouth.

Lemurs are critically endangered. The main reason is the loss of their rain forest habitat. Madagascar’s forests have been reduced by as much as 85% due to extensive logging for cooking fuel, building materials and what is called slash-and-burn farming.

Wildwood Wildlife Park is dedicated to help save these beautiful, inquisitive and vocal animals. We look forward to your visiting the new lemur exhibit.

Bellatrix, Our Baby Binturong

Chances are the newest addition to the Wildwood Wildlife Park is an animal that is new to you. Meet Bellatrix, a baby binturong, also known as a bear cat. Its genus name Arctictis means ‘bear-weasel’ and it’s easy to see why. The name is misleading since binturongs are not related to bears or cats.

Binturong’s are native to South and Southeast Asia where they are can be found in the tropical rain forests. Binturongs are active during day and night. While binturongs spend most of their time in trees, they usually have to climb down

to get from tree to tree, since they are not nearly as acrobatic as monkeys. They move about gently, often coming to a stop, clinging to a branch often using their tail in order to keep its balance. They walk flat-footed, and, when waddling around on the ground their gait resembles that of a bear.

Binturong’s have a very distinctive smell - that of buttered popcorn! As pleasing as it might be to the human nose, that scent serves a purpose in the wild to let other binturongs know that they are trespassing on another binturongs territory; this same scent is also used to discourage a would-be predator.

Female binturongs usually give birth to 1 or 2 babies and weigh 5 ounces at birth. Adults can grow up to 2 to 3 feet in length and weigh between 30 and 50 pounds; their tails can grow from 19 to 33 inches in length. 

Binturong Area Photo Credit: Wikipedia