Taronga Western Plains Zoo has continued its breeding success for Ring-tailed Lemurs with three babies born to three different mothers.

The Ring-tailed Lemur babies were born in the following order:

• Rakitra gave birth to a female on 30 August 2019
• Cleo gave birth to a female on 5 September 2019
• Noa gave birth to a female on 17 September 2019

“This is the third successful breeding season for father Dia,” said Ring-tailed Lemur Keeper Sasha Brook.

“Dia has produced 12 offspring at Taronga Western Plains Zoo and will now be retired from breeding to allow another male to join the group to introduce new genetics.”

 “The three babies are all doing really well, they are bonding with their respective mothers and meeting their developmental milestones,” said Sasha.

“The two older babies are starting to climb off their mums and explore their surroundings, but they generally don’t venture more than a metre away.

 “The babies are also starting to mouth food and try some of the soft food items given to their rest of the group.”

Ring-tailed Lemurs only have a very small window to fall pregnant. They generally come into season for 24 hours once a year, so if there isn’t a successful mating during this period it is a long wait until the following year.

The Ring-tailed Lemur breeding season is generally in April, so births are usually expected in early spring following a four-month gestation period.

The babies are most active in the mid-morning and mid-afternoon on the island if the weather is warm. At other times during the day, the viewing is from the back of the breeding facility.

Taronga Western Plains Zoo is home to two groups of Ring-tailed Lemurs, a breeding group near the African picnic ground and a bachelor group at the Savannah Lake.  The breeding group now has 11 individuals including the most recent three babies, whilst the bachelor group has four individuals. 

Taronga Western Plains Zoo is located in Dubbo in Central Western NSW and is open from 9:00am – 5pm. For more information visit www.taronga.org.au/dubbo.