Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago proudly welcomed a baby crowned lemur on April 15. The sex and measurements of the lemur infant are still to be determined because mother Tucker is keeping her newborn close.
“With any birth, our animal care staff carefully monitors the new arrival to ensure they are passing critical milestones,” said Curator of Primates Maureen Leahy. “Tucker is an attentive and experienced mother and the infant is holding tight to her and regularly nursing, which is exactly what we’d hope to see.”
In the wild, crowned lemurs inhabit the forests of Madagascar. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN), crowned lemurs are considered endangered due to forest loss caused by slash-and-burn practices, habitat fragmentation, charcoal production, mining and other human-wildlife conflict.