KARACHI: Clinging tightly, one to the mother’s chest and the other to her back, the tiny lemur twins recently born at the zoo are a source of great attraction for visitors these days.

The births of the endangered species have somewhat managed to boost the image of the zoo, often criticised for experiencing increased animal mortalities and generally poor upkeep of wildlife species. “Both babies are doing fine. The mother will carry them around and feed them milk until they are old enough to forage on their own,” assistant director of the zoo Dr Aamir Ismail said, adding that the babies would continue to ride piggyback for two years. It was sad, however, to see that the six ring-tailed lemurs that were added to the zoo family less than two years ago have lost their beauty; their fur has become patchy and lost its lustre.

Also known as Lemur catta, they were found in an abandoned baggage by customs authorities at Karachi airport in May 2013, and were later handed over to the zoo. It is the first birth in the troop.

Lemur (meaning ghost in Latin) is native only to the African island of Madagascar and the neighbouring Comoro Islands. The species resembles the oldest ancestors of primates which existed tens of millions of years ago.

The primates are believed to be the most threatened mammal group on earth. Of the 101 lemur species, 22 are critically endangered, 48 are endangered and 20 vulnerable, as stated by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List of Threatened Species.

The ring-tailed lemur is listed as near-threatened and is an Appendix 1 species on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

The ring-tailed lemurs are endangered, largely because the sparse, dry forests they love are quickly vanishing.

Mortality rates are generally very high among baby lemurs. More than half of them will die before they are able to leave their mother and go out on their own. The typical life span of a lemur in the wild is approximately 18 years.

Published in Dawn, April 14th, 2015

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