A “dancing lemur”, also known as a Coquerel’s sifaka, has made its highly anticipated publicly debut at the Chester Zoo. The arrival of the baby Coquerel’s sifaka, a critically endangered species, happened on 21 September. The young lemur has kept its sex unknown to zookeepers who have been caring for it since its birth. The baby is the offspring of parents Beatrice and Elliot, aged 11 and 10, respectively.
The Coquerel’s sifaka is native to Madagascar, which is the only place where the species can be found. The sifaka has garnered a lot of attention as they are critically endangered due to deforestation that has occurred on the island. It is estimated that the sifaka’s population has decreased by over 80% in the last 21 years.
The Chester Zoo is part of the European Endangered Species Breeding Programme, which aims to promote conservation efforts of animals that are facing endangerment. The breeding programme for the Coquerel’s sifaka works hand in hand with habitat protection efforts in many of Madagascar’s national parks.
The arrival of the new Coquerel’s sifaka is a beacon of hope amidst widespread deforestation that poses a significant threat to the world’s biodiversity. Every baby Coquerel’s sifaka serves as a reminder of the responsibility we have to care for the planet’s natural resources and work towards sustainability for our future generations
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