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News for the month of May 2001

The Birth of Black and White Ruffed Lemur Babies

I would like to start off by announcing the successful birth of two healthy and vibrant Black and White Ruffed Lemur babies. The Sanctuary staff is beaming with joy here! Lemurs of all kinds are extremely endangered on their native island of Madagascar. The babies born to Vanda and Bonsi represent a significant step in the right direction towards the conservation of these remarkable creatures. The brother and sister infants are the first successful births of this species of lemur at the Sanctuary.

Now for a little background information. Bonsi (the male) and Vanda (the female) have been cohabitating for a number of years and were extremely bonded to each other. Of course Vanda always seemed to have her way due to the fact that like most other lemur species, Ruffed Lemur society is based on female dominance!

We observed Bonsi copulating with Vanda exactly 101 days before the birth of the twins. Knowing the possible date of conception was an invaluable piece of information for us. We were now able to accurately predict the birth date. After reviewing a research paper detailing the behaviors of pregnant female Ruffed Lemurs written by Rachel Rogers, we new exactly what to expect and how to react to Vanda's needs. From this paper we learned to look for signs of Vanda trying to build a nest. Female Ruffed Lemurs are the only primate to build a nest specifically for the purpose of rearing their young. A month before the anticipated birth date, David and myself offered all kinds of nesting materials to Vanda. In addition we set up a large heated nest box complete with a closed circuit observational system. We placed this nest box on the ground due to the fact that Ruffed Lemurs are ground nesters.

As predicted by Rachel, almost 3 weeks before she delivered her infants, Vanda started gathering the nesting material. She carefully pulled it into the supplied nesting box forming it to her specifications. Two weeks latter Vanda became very busy rearranging her nest. She started spending significantly more time in the nest box so we all new the day was near. In the early morning of the 101st day of gestation Vanda delivered twins.

She exhibited excellent maternal behaviors. Immediately cleaning and then bringing the babies to her chest to warm and nurse them. For the nest three weeks Vanda nursed her babies inside the nest box. Every time they would wander out she would pick them up in her mouth and place them back inside. In the wild, Ruffed Lemurs will keep their infants in the nest for up to a month depending on the weather and the abundance of food items. The warmer, and more plentiful the food supply, the more milk she produces. With increased quantity and quality of her milk, the babies grow stronger, healthier and are able to be moved from the nest quicker.

The babies continued to thrive and gain weight. After three weeks Vanda was having a hard time keeping the twins in one place. They were constantly trying to explore their new world. By the 5th week, the babies were jumping all over their habitat. Like out of control teenagers, they bounced around from branch to branch, often swinging from Vanda's tail like a vine. Still nursing, the twins started to experiment eating soaked primate biscuits and finely diced fruit.

They were growing so fast! Right before our eyes! By the 8th week they were eating a substantial amount of solids. Now fully functional lemurs, the twins were hanging upside down in typical lemur fashion, starting to experiment with vocalizations and grooming one another.

We are so pleased with the progress the twins have made and the natural maternal care Vanda has shown to her babies. Be sure to read the next "Sanctuary News" for and update on the development of the Sanctuary's newest additions!


Remember, there are many ways to help the cause. Here are a few.

1) Tell everyone you know about the website. By increasing the number of visitors, we increase the awareness of the danger these wonderful creatures face.
2) If you have a website, link to us - http://www.tigerhomes.org/
3) Submit our site http://www.tigerhomes.org/ to any webcam sites you may visit.
4) Make a donation to the sanctuary. There is an area on the gift shop for those who want to contribute.
5) Purchase items from the gift shop. They make great gifts and are for a worthy cause.
6) Adopt a pet. It's a great way to virtually own one of the sanctuary animals.

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Remember, our main mission is to spread an interest in saving wild animals and wild places but we can't do it alone.

Story by: Jason and David