It’s a ring-tailed conspiracy!
Lemurs, a primate species native only to the island of Madagascar, live in large social groups called a conspiracy. These groups are ruled by the females with an iron fist. Often the epitome of familial cohabitation, lemurs have strong and unique personalities which normally makes for a diverse group. But even us humans know that living in a house full of relatives can bring about personality clashes and sometimes even conflict…
Sadly, that is why our beautiful and beloved Tilly recently found herself in a bit of a predicament with her family in our Lemur Falls enclosure. Unfortunately, she did not get along with her relatives and had to be removed from the group to prevent serious injuries. Though they come across as cute and sweet when in fight mode, they can pack a serious bite!
Since then, Tilly had been living in our Animal Care Centre where she received her daily care, attention, and enrichment from the animal care team and our dedicated Wild Animal Volunteers. Though we’ve done everything possible, it was clear that she still dearly missed her own kind. Not just lemurs as a species, but lemurs as kindred spirits; someone to understand her for the lovely yet leery lemur that she is.
As we are an accredited zoological facility (*see accreditation below), finding her an alternative home meant looking for another facility who displays the same standards and accreditations. This meant that our animal care team had to deliberate and search high and low for the perfect solution for Tilly.
One sunshiny day, Esther from Butterfly World Zoo in Stellenbosch reached out to us about Tilly as she was aware of Tilly’s exile from her group. Butterfly World Zoo recently received a small conspiracy of ring-tailed lemurs, with a common goal - to contribute towards the conservation and education efforts of organizations assisting in the battle against habitat destruction of Madagascan lemurs. After dotting all the i’s and crossing all the t’s, Narinda, (Zoological Director at Cango Wildlife Ranch) agreed to send Tilly to Butterfly World.
“We have been checking in often and Tilly has settled in well at Butterfly World Zoo. Her new friends are still only neighbors because she needs to get to know them, and vice versa, before they can safely share a home. Our hopes are that she puts forward her best tail stripes and forms part of a brand-new family she can call her own. We will, of course, keep close contact and base all future decisions on her happiness and well-being but for now, all is very well!” ~ Cango Animal Team.
Part of successful animal care is being able to network with other like-minded organizations that operate at high standards. Co-operation allows us to ensure that we always have our animals best interests at heart.
The ‘Tilly Conspiracy’ may very well have a Part 2 on the way… who knows it may even be titled the ‘Tilly love Story’?!
Help us to keep helping animals just like Tilly!
* Accredited by PAAZA or the Pan-African Association of Zoo’s and Aquaria and members of WAZA, the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums
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