Halloween pumpkins surprise endangered ring-tailed lemurs

This spooky enrichment activity not only provided the lemurs with a fun way to find their food but also mimicked their natural environment, enhancing their well-being and offering visitors a unique glimpse into their behaviours.

The troop of lemurs, which includes two sets of infant twins, can be seen surrounding two carved pumpkins, one of which contained their morning feed of sweet potatoes. They engaged in activities that resemble their natural foraging behaviours, selecting food with their paws.

Alana Lay-Flurrie,the 25-year-old zoo supervisor, documented the lemurs' interaction with their Halloween treat.

“These would have been the first pumpkins they have ever encountered!” Lay-Flurrie commented.

“The infants are very inquisitive, but are still on their mother’s milk, so they didn’t eat the sweet potato.”

Female lemurs will give birth to their first baby at three years old, then once a year every year after that.

They usually only give birth to one baby, but twins occur occasionally.

The babies will cling to the mothers until six months when they are weaned and become independent. Ring-tailed lemursare an endangered species, which means every lemur born in captivity secures the future of these intelligent primates.