Trust celebrates birth of rare lemur quadruplets

Trust celebrates birth of rare lemur quadruplets 18 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleCaroline RobinsonSouth West

Shaldon Wildlife Trust Four small lemur babies huddles together in a wood box. The lemur at the front has its paws out of the box. They have big light blue and green eyes.

Shaldon Wildlife TrustThe red-ruffed lemur quadruplets are native to Madagascar but were born in Devon

A wildlife trust is is celebrating the rare birth of red-ruffed lemur quadruplets.

Shaldon Wildlife Trust in Devon said the lemurs were "just so, so cute but so, so special at the same time."

The trust said red ruffed lemurs were only found in a small area of the northeast of Madagascar and were "critically endangered". It said the birth of quadruplets was incredibly rare, occurring in fewer than 6% of births worldwide.

Zak Showell, director of Shaldon Wildlife Trust, said it was a "huge success and a testament to the hard work that the team do looking after and caring for our animals."

Shaldon Wildlife Trust A black and light brown lemur with its tongue sticking out. It is sat on a grey table and has a wooden background behind it.

Shaldon Wildlife TrustZak Showell said the babies were growing quickly

Listen to the latest news for Devon

The trust said the babies were born on 4 May to mother Eka and father Nero and were part of the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums breeding programme.

Showell said: "We leave her (Eka) to it ... this is actually her fourth set of offspring that she's ever had so she knows what she's doing ... but we make sure that we give her extra food to keep her energy reserves up."

He said the babies were moving a lot for a month old and the head keeper had seen one trying bites of food.

"They're progression is so so quick in comparison to many other animals," he said.

Shaldon Wildlife Trust Three small lemur babies huddles together in a wood box. They have their paws out of the box and are looking at the camera.

Shaldon Wildlife TrustShowell said Eka, the mother lemur, was being "very protective"

Showell said: "What's interesting is her partner Nero and their two sons from previous years are still around in that habitat but mum doesn't want them anywhere near the babies, she is being very, very protective."

He said the babies would stay at the zoo for a number of years and "learn from mum and dad how to be a lemur."

They could then be moved to other zoos to continue to breed.

It added alongside being part of the breeding programme, Shaldon Wildlife Trust directly supported the protection of the animals in the wild through their field conservation partner, the Lemur Conservation Association.

Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].