The Isle of Wight Zoo recently received a pair of unexpected new arrivals – two red ruffed lemur babies rejected by their mother at another organisation.
At only hours old, time was critical to find someone with the expertise to raise them - and Isle of Wight Zoo staff were delighted to step in and give the critically endangered babies a home.
Red Funnel ferry company pulled out all the stops to ensure the babies were given the red carpet treatment as they were whisked over to the Island from Southampton on one of the Red Jets.
Head of Primates Lisa Britton has been hand-raising the two mischievous youngsters, a job that requires a great deal of dedication as she has to take them home with her overnight.
On Tuesday the 18th August the lemurs got the chance for another adventure – a ride on a Red Funnel car ferry. To celebrate Red Funnel taking out the first corporate adoption of the lemurs they had an afternoon on board, giving them a chance to meet the ferry passengers and explore the boat. The adoption is especially exciting for the pair as Red Funnel will be running a competition to find names for them, details of which will be found at
www.isleofwightzoo.com. The red ruffed lemurs are an exciting part of the zoo’s Madagascan baby boom. In May a black and white ruffed lemur was born to parents Louis and Liberty, while the tenrecs (small hedgehog-like creatures) and the Madagascan jumping rats have also had babies.