LCF has welcomed a sweet natured, handsome young red ruffed lemur named River from the Henson Robinson Zoo. He’s become known as ‘Ranomamy,’ Malagasy for ‘river,’ to reduce confusion with LCF resident Rivotra (‘wind’), and to have a nickname that matches our Malagasy-themed names for this species at the reserve.
River joined us through a transfer based on the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA) Species Survival Plan (SSP) for red ruffed lemurs. SSPs are used to help manage the population of select species in AZA facilities and to help with the conservation of those species in the wild. Red ruffed lemurs are critically endangered, facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild in the immediate future.
Since his arrival, River has settled in nicely with his new partner Zazabe, which means ‘big baby’ in Malagasy. The two are currently spending their days adjusting to their new enclosure before being introduced together to one of our free-range lemur habitats.
Zazabe was born at LCF on May 9, 2016 to mother Ravina (‘leaf’) and father Tsikey (‘smile’). She was the second offspring born to the pair, following the birth of their son Afo (‘fire’) in 2014. Zazabe has lived in our protected forest for most of her life and will be able to pass that valuable knowledge onto River. For now, the two can often be found sunning and exploring their enclosure.
Red ruffed lemurs are one of six species at our reserve’s colony. In addition to ensuring their survival through our managed breeding program in Florida, the Lemur Conservation Foundation protects these lemurs and their habitat in the areas where we work in northeastern Madagascar.
To learn more about this species, visit our red ruffed lemur webpage by clicking here.