Lemurs move into £25,000 luxury lodgings

Dudley Zoo’s black lemur family is settling into a newly-built home. Mum Barbara, Dad Bryan, one-year-old Kim and baby Jim have been moved from Lemur Wood walkthrough to their new enclosure. It comes complete with hammocks made from old coffee sacks, basket feeders and branches which can be hooked into different positions. Contractors put up the main frame and keepers and the maintenance team completed the impressive interior with Assistant Curator Jay Haywood adding some artwork to the indoor viewing area.

Head of Upper Primates, Pat Stevens, said: “The move from Lemur Wood went smoothly and the new enclosure gives the family lots of things to do.

“All four of them soon got the hang of new cat flaps to go between the indoor and outdoor sections and they have been busy exploring every corner of their new home. We are delighted with the finished result which has great glass viewing areas so visitors can get a really good look at our lemurs.”

The fabulous new build was designed by Curator Richard Brown, who plays a key role in the conservation of this vulnerable species. Dudley Zoo is the studbook holder for the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP), with Richard being responsible for recommending exchanges or breeding across more than 50 animal collections.

The previous enclosure on the site, which was demolished and completely rebuilt, used to house red squirrels, some of which were released into the wild in Denbighshire, north Wales, this March.