The Newest, Cutest Baby Animals from the World's Zoos & Aquariums
Germany's Allwetter Zoo in Muenster has a rare treat for visitors. Born March 30th, twin ring-tailed lemurs can be seen nursing and sticking close to mom "Mobi." Ring-tailed lemurs are threatened in their native home of Madagascar by habitat destruction and poaching for bushmeat (who could eat a lemur?!).
Who could eat a lemur? Probably the same kind of people who could eat pigs, cows, and chickens; they’re all pretty cute if you catch them while they’re alive.
Awesome pictures, though! I love their eyes!
Very cute pictures. So tiny.
Precious little faces.
Who could eat a lemur? Probably people who are hungry and live in abject poverty.
KML – In many cases you are correct. Bushmeat is the primary source of sustenance for a variety of indigenous peoples around the world. Finding a solution that both supports the local population and protects the wildlife is the challenge.
That being said, in Madagascar most poaching is not related to subsistence hunting. Instead, animals hunted in the jungles are sold to restaurants in the city where they fetch top prices as exotic luxury menu items.
While the argument can certainly be made that this provides a source of livelihood for the hunters, this is a slippery slope. Where does one draw the line? Are lemurs OK but not elephants or whales? Ultimately, if hunting will drive a species into extinction, it’s not a sustainable source of revenue. Hopefully clever economic solutions, some of which are already in the works, will provide relief to both the humans and animals.
Really really cute! Are they really twins?
So adorable. I wonder how common it is for lemurs to have twins. Got to be a handful for mom.
And yes, they really are twins. That’s what it’s called when you have 2 babies at the same time. Doesn’t matter whether they’re identical or fraternal – they’re still twins.
Twins are very common for Strepsirrhini primates, such as lemurs. High rates of twins is adaptive for lemurs because they have high infant mortality rates in the wild.
Leave a Reply to SharonCancel reply