Super rare baby dancing lemur born at zoo

By Charlie Fenton

A super rare baby 'dancing' lemur has been born at a British zoo to the delight of keepers.

The tiny baby has arrived at Chester Zoo to parents Beatrice, 12, and Elliot, 12, bringing an end to a five-month pregnancy.

Born with thick fuzzy white fur and weighing approximately 100 grams, the precious youngster is only around the same size as a tennis ball.

First images released by zookeepers show mum Beatrice carefully cradling her new baby as it clings to her belly.

The lemur is from a species called Coquerel sifaka native to Madagascar which are known as dancing lemurs as they often are spotted standing on two legs and moving from side to side.

The newborn is just one of nine baby lemurs in Europe.

Dr. Nick Davis, Mammals General Manager at Chester Zoo, said: “Every Coquerel’s sifaka birth is a huge cause for celebration.

"There are very few remaining globally and every addition within the European conservation breeding program is vital to the work we’re doing to safeguard the future of this species.

“The new baby has spent the first vital few weeks of life quietly bonding with mum, Beatrice, and we’re very happy to report that they’re both doing great so far."

Unlike other species of lemur, sifakas stand perfectly upright and use their powerful legs to spring side to side along the forest floor, which has resulted in the animals being nicknamed the ‘dancing lemur’.

Chester is the only zoo in the UK, and one of just three in Europe, to care for Coquerel’s sifakas, having worked with the Duke Lemur Centre in America to establish a conservation breeding program across the continent that’s working to prevent the rare primates from becoming extinct.

Currently, just nine sifaka reside in the whole of Europe, with four now found in Chester.

Primate experts at the zoo say the new arrival will begin to branch out and explore on its own at around six months old, at which point they’ll determine if it is male or female.