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Ring-tailed lemurs Fanta and Fresca are fantastic
July 15, 2011: The Toledo Zoo welcomes Fanta and Fresca, two female ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta), from the Duke Lemur Center in North Carolina. Fanta and Fresca are four-year-old sisters.
Lemurs are members of the primate family, related to monkeys and apes. Their bodies are about 18 inches long – about the size of large domestic cats -- with distinctive ringed tails that are another 24 inches long. Known for their piercing stare, that wide-eyed appearance has a biological basis; limited movement within their eye sockets forces them to turn their heads to better see objects.
These social, intelligent animals like to sunbathe and huddle together in “lemur balls” to stay warm or maintain social bonds. They are also agile athletes and spend their time on the ground or in trees, easily moving from one to the other.
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David Haring, Duke Lemur Center
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Andi Norman
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In their native Madagascar, lemurs are in danger of extinction because of habitat loss, poaching, and hunting. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) has developed a Species Survival Plan for ring-tailed lemurs.
You can see the Zoo’s ring-tailed lemurs, Fanta and Fresca, in the Primate Forest.
The Toledo Zoo is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is located on the Anthony Wayne Trail (US 25), four miles south of downtown Toledo. For more information and all the affordable fun at your Toledo Zoo, please visit www.toledozoo.org or call (419) 385-4040. Lucas County residents are admitted free of charge each Monday from 10 am to noon. ID showing proof of residency is required.
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