Zoo news from around the world

As well as keeping up with the daily adventures of our wonderful wildlife community here at Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm, we also love to stay up-to-date with what’s happening in other zoos around the world. This week, our hearts melted a little when we heard the exciting news all the way from The Smithsonian Zoo in Washington D.C. that a trio of rare, endangered red-ruffed lemurs were born at the zoo’s Small Mammal House. Red-ruffed lemurs are found in the wilds of Madagascar where they spend their time in the deciduous forests found in the north-east of the country. They are listed as critically endangered due to hunting, trapping and deforestation.

The babies were born on April 5th to 6-year-old lemur Molly as part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan, a program dedicated to conserving species that are in in urgent need of protection such as the lowland gorilla and the giant panda. https://twitter.com/NationalZoo/status/722835432052908032 Imagining a world without these beautiful and unique creatures is a sobering thought – many zoos around the world do what they can to stop this happening. Although the birth of any animal is a cause for celebration here at Noah’s Ark, when the babies are an endangered species it is particularly exciting.

We feel very fortunate that our community of Siamang Gibbonsare thriving here at the zoo. The World Wildlife Fund describes Gibbons as the most endangered of all the apes. Pay ours a visit next time you drop by! In fact, you may even hear them calling out to you – the Siamang Gibbon is known for large throat sack, which gives it the special ability to amplify its voice. You can hear them hollering from up to two miles away! Siamangs have a special place at the zoo because they are the focus of an ongoing Ape Campaign by the European Association or Zoos and Aquaria. This campaign has been designed to aid the survival of a variety of endangered apes and the Siamang Gibbon species is currently being nurtured under the European Breeding Program (EEP). So, we are delighted ours are doing so well!

In fact, we have made a change to the way we care for our primates here at the zoo, thanks to ongoing research in the zoo community that reducing the animals sugar intake can improve health and reduce aggressive behaviours. Don’t worry, we haven’t been feeding our monkeys sinful desserts, it’s just the natural sugars contained in fruit that we have moved away from as we seek to improve their diet. If you've had your heart won by our mischievous monkeys and amazing apes, why not consider adopting a primatehere at the zoo? Contributing an adopting fee means that you will have adopted the animal of your choice for a year and your donation will help us to care for and feed our primates. Animal adoptions also make wonderful gifts as you receive a cuddly soft toy primate to take home as well as one free admission to visit your animal, a personalised certificate and your name will be displayed at the animal’s enclosure.

The upcoming bank holiday weekend provides the perfect opportunity to pay us a visit here at the zoo! Book onlineand you can save 5% on your tickets.

Watch our Primates and Small Mammals Keeper Experience video