AssetID: 54597134
Headline: UNCAPTIONED: Adorable Baby 'Dancing Lemur' The Size Of A Tennis Ball Born At Chester Zoo
Caption: Adorable Baby 'Dancing Lemur' The Size Of A Tennis Ball Born At Chester Zoo. Conservationists at Chester Zoo are celebrating the birth of a critically endangered Coquerel's sifaka – also known as a 'dancing lemur'. The tiny baby has arrived to parents Beatrice (12) and Elliot (12), bringing an end to a five-month pregnancy. Born with thick fuzzy white fur and weighing approximately 100 grams, the precious youngster is only around the same size as a tennis ball! Dr Nick Davis, Mammals General Manager at Chester Zoo, said: “The new baby has spent the first vital few weeks of life quietly bonding with mum, Beatrice and we're very happy to report that they're both doing great so far. We're seeing positive signs – they've been inseparable so far.” First images released by zookeepers show mum Beatrice carefully cradling her new baby as it clings to her belly. Unlike other species of lemur, sifakas stand perfectly upright and use their powerful legs to spring side to side along the forest floor, which has resulted in the animals being nicknamed the 'dancing lemur'. Chester is the only zoo in the UK, and one of just three in Europe, to care for Coquerel's sifakas, having worked with the Duke Lemur Centre in America to establish a conservation breeding programme across the continent that's working to prevent the rare primates from becoming extinct. Currently just nine sifaka reside in the whole of Europe, with four now found in Chester.
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