Newquay Zoo has welcomed animal royalty following the birth of an endangered tiny crowned lemur

The baby was born to parents Beloha and Xavier on Tuesday, July 25. The family group also includes older brothers Boingy and Felix, who were born in 2020 and 2021 respectively.

Dave Rich, the deputy curator of Animals at Newquay Zoo, said: “The baby will cling tightly onto the mum’s back or stomach for the next three or four months, but if you look closely, you’ll be able to see its little head poking out of its mum’s fur.”

The baby has yet to be sexed and named, but this will happen when the baby is a little older. As crowned lemurs develop with age, males and females can be differentiated by their colouration. Females are mostly light grey with a pale orange crown, while males are reddish brown with a more obvious orange and black crown. 

Crowned lemurs have a native range of northern Madagascar. Their numbers are decreasing due to habitat loss, forest fires, logging and land development. While most live in four protected areas, these reserves are fragmented, restricting their range and ability to breed. 

Newquay Zoo is part of the conservation charity Wild Planet Trust, which is helping to halt species decline. The new baby is a success for this rare species. 

Newquay’s family of crowned lemurs can be found in the Madagascan Walkway area of the zoo.