Madagascan Lemurs Enjoy New Forest Exhibit at Taronga Zook

Taronga Zoo’s new lemur exhibit was officially opened this week.

The Lemur Forest Adventure exhibit aims to replicate the lemurs’ natural habitat on the island of Madagascar, off the east coast of Africa.

Officially opening the exhibit were NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell and Member for North Shore, Jillian Skinner.

“I’m pleased to welcome Taronga’s eight new residents to their spectacular new home that includes more than 5,000 trees and plants from Madagascar,” Mr O’Farrell said.

“Lemurs in the wild are endangered, particularly by forest clearance, so this exhibit increases awareness about protecting the species, made famous by movies such as Fierce Creatures and Madagascar.

Eight bachelor lemurs are exploring their new forest home while four primates have arrived from Taronga Western Plains Zoo at Dubbo (the rest arriving from Italy) – the new arrivals add to the Zoo’s long list of exhibits that bring people up close to wildlife to explain the importance of conservation and species management.

This modern and interactive exhibit is made up of a forest path and a custom-built playground with complex climbing structure that enables young visitors to mimic lemurs’ climbing behaviour.

The final part of the exhibit, a walk-through path allowing visitors to walk among the lemurs, is scheduled to open at Easter 2014 to give the animals a chance to get used to the presence of humans.

Taronga Zoo recently won Gold in the Best Attraction category at the recent NSW Tourism Awards.