Rare lemur born for the first time in Great Britain

Cotswold Wildlife Park, Oxfordshire, is celebrating the birth of one of its most iconic and rare lemur species – the crowned sifaka. The baby male, named Yousstwo, is the first breeding success for new parents Bafana and Tahina and is the first sifaka birth in the park’s history. Cotswold Wildlife Park is the only mainland zoological collection in Great Britain to keep this endangered lemur species.

Tahina is also the first hand-reared sifaka in history to parent-rear her own offspring and is proving to be an exceptional mother. Sifaka lemur babies are born completely covered in white fur and weighing roughly one hundred grams. Infants are able to grip their mother’s fur from birth and they cling onto her belly for the first few weeks of life. After eight weeks, they start to develop the distinctive darker markings the crowned sifaka is famous for, becoming independent at around six months old.

Yousstwo is now beginning to explore his new world and ventured outside for the first time last week. He can be been seen leaping from his mother’s back and exploring his new home with great vigour. It is hoped that Yousstwo will go on to become part of an important breeding programme for the endangered lemur species.

The Cotswold Wildlife Park Conservation Trust was established in 2013 and funds vital conservation projects preserving future generations of Madagascar’s rarest Lemurs, including the crowned sifaka which is under threat in its natural habitat.

For more information and to visit The Cotswold Wildlife Park go to www.cotswoldwildlifepark.co.uk