Two sets of ring-tailed lemur twins have been born at Taronga Western Plains Zoo, and despite past difficulties, things are going smoothly.
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The first set of babies were born on October 5, followed by another set on the 17th.
Keeper Sasha Brooks said so far the mothers and their babies were doing well.
“Both Rakitra and Cleo are new mothers, they have had offspring before but sadly none of their young have survived past the first 12 weeks, so we’re taking things very slowly,” Ms Brooks said.
The previous experience gained by the mothers, as well as the extra precautions taken by the keepers made it look like a promising year, she said.
“We’re hoping they may be on display sometime early in the new year. It will just depend on how they’re developing, how relaxed the mums are,” the keeper said.
She said the keepers were taking their time reintroducing the lemurs to make sure the success continued.
The babies will cling to their mothers until they are about four months old.
“Primates are quite famous for being slow developing, their babies take a long time to grow up and learn everything they need to do compared to some other species of animals, and lemurs are no exception,” Ms Brooks said.
“When they’re born basically the only ability they have is to cling on really, really tightly to mum’s tummy because she carries team around wherever she goes.”
Ring-tailed lemur twins and triplets are not uncommon. In the wild they occur if it is a good season with an abundance of food.