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News for the month of March 2003

The Sanctuary has a new addition! Infant Ring-tailed lemur

David and I are extremely happy to announce the birth of the Sanctuary's newest family member. On March 19th, 2003, a healthy infant Ring-tailed lemur was born to Mary, a 4-year old female recently put on breeding loan from the Primate Conservancy.

As of this Chronicle, the sex is unknown to David and I. Being that this is Mary's 1st offspring, we were delighted to observe that she took fantastic care of her infant. Like many other primates, 1st time mothers often show little to zero maternal instincts and in some cases abandon or kill their own offspring. Not only was this not the case with Mary because she immediately started nursing and grooming her infant; but the entire colony or 'Troop' took to the infant as well. Accepting it into the Troop with zero aggressive or antagonistic behaviors.

While watching Mary and her infant on one of the cams, I want you to notice an interesting parenting behavioral difference between the way a Ring-tail Lemur raises its infant compared to that of the Ruffed Lemur. Unlike the Ruffed Lemur, the Ring-tail does not build nests or stash ?PARK? her infant in a tree nook or crevice while she forages. Instead, the mother Ring-tail Lemur actually carries her infant with her wear ever she goes at all times. You will also notice that for the fist 2 weeks of its life, the infant clings to the mother?s belly. Once the baby is about 2 weeks of age it spends the majority of its time being transported on the mothers back. From this point on, the infant will become braver and braver and slowly start exploring further and further away from its mother.

One of my all time favorite things about the Tiger Homes Sanctuary are the habitats! Each and every one is a work of art to Dave and I. We constantly strive to not only make them look good to you on camera; but more importantly to provide a natural ENRICHING environment for the animals (kids) that we both love so much. You are going to be ?Blown Away? once you see Mary making long distance "Kamikaze" jumps with her baby on her back on cam!!! This is a rare opportunity for you to observe not only the remarkable parenting behaviors of one of the world?s most amazing animals, but also the ability to observe the Troop dynamics in a naturalistic habitat! Visit as often as possible as not to miss a single day in the development of this little gem. Try to make a conscious effort to look beyond the ?Cute Factor? and into the actual lives of the different members of the Sanctuary?s residents.

As always, David and myself thank you for your interest and support. Remember, we ALL have to get involved to help protect the earth?s wild animals and wild places. You can also ?Get Involved? and help support the Tiger Homes Sanctuary buy purchasing items from our gift shop. We thank you in advance for your purchases and donations. They are both appreciated and needed.

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