College Welcomes Arrival of Rare Species

06/09/2011 - South Staffordshire College has welcomed some very special new arrivals at its Animal Zone at Rodbaston Campus, with the birth of a male and female Black Lemur. In the wild lemurs are only found on Madagascar and surrounding small islands.

College Welcomes Arrival of Rare Species

 

some very special new arrivals at its Animal Zone at Rodbaston Campus, with the birth of a male and female Black Lemur.  In the wild lemurs are only found on Madagascar and surrounding small islands.

Proud parents Mum Ramena and Dad Amado, are particularly pleased with the pair as lemurs will typically produce only one baby at a time in the wild.

South Staffordshire College is one of very few zoos exhibiting Black Lemurs.  This rare species is endemic to Madagascar where eighty percent of its animals and plants are found nowhere else on earth. 

The College is actively involved in 4 conservation projects.  The Madagascar Fauna group, which carries out vital conservation work in Madagascar raising money for Save the Lemurs; the Save the Gouldian Finch group; Cans For Corridors, a project where 50 cans recycled can help to plant 1 tree in the Amazon Rain Forest to provide a wildlife corridor and the fourth project is for the Cotton-top Tamarin Monkey.

Many of the animals housed at the Animal Zone are of significant conservation value and South Staffordshire College actively takes part in breeding programmes in conjunction with other zoos, with animal keepers working hard to ensure the optimum conditions for all the animals.