Denver Zoo Welcomes Lemur Quadruplets
Warning, they’re cute! The Denver Zoo is showing off their newest addition: quadruplet red ruffed lemurs.
The quadruplets, born March 12, include male, Rusty and females, Bordeaux, Chianti and Mena. They are now big enough to explore outside their nest box and can be seen with their parents in the Emerald Forest exhibit in Denver Zoo’s Primate Panorama, the zoo said.
This is the first litter for both mother, Sixpence, and her mate, Mego. Sixpence was among the infants born in the last litter at Denver Zoo in 1998. Mego came to Denver Zoo from the Duke Lemur Center in April 2008.
Rred ruffed lemurs are almost entirely covered with red fur, except for their black faces, feet and tails and white patches on the back of their necks. Adults’ bodies can grow to about three-feet-long, but their tails, which provide crucial balance in trees, can stretch more than three feet on their own. They are thought to be called “ruffed” because of the tufts of fur around their necks. These resemble ruffs, or large, ruffled collars worn by European men and women in the late 1500s and early 1600s.
Exact red ruffed lemur population numbers in the wild aren’t known, but the World Conservation Union classifies them as endangered. Their numbers are thought to be dwindling, mostly due to habitat destruction, the zoo said.
There are 88 different species of lemurs that survive only on the island of Madagascar.
Young red ruffed lemurs do not cling to their mothers like many other primates. Instead their mother will typically carry them around with her mouth, almost like a dog or cat. They’re groups are matriarchal. They eat primarily fruit and flowers. They are diurnal, meaning they are active both at night and during the day.
