There is recruitment in the Feldman Ecopark’s ape collection. The Regional Landscape Park’s close-knit lemur family was refilled with 10 ring-tailed (Madagascar cat) lemurs. They arrived within the project of free exchange of animals between zoos.
By the experts, these bright, cheerful and restless animals well-known by the king Julian of the animated film “Madagascar” are very friendly and gratefully make contact with people. “The newcomers feel great. Because of cold weather the apes were settled indoors. They eat vegetables, fruit, berries, meat, fish, cottage cheese and also receive necessary vitamins”, – the deputy director Feldman Ecopark Valeriia Ivashchenko told.
The ring-tailed lemurs (Madagascar cat) or katta is the most known species from the lemur family. It refers to the Strepsirrhine suborder, the Apes order. The Madagascar cat meet in the South and the southwest of Madagascar island in dry open spaces and in the forests. These are rangy animals, in size comparable to cats. The body length ranges from 38 to 45 cm, and a black-white striped tail – from 55 to 62 cm. As a rule, the lemur’s tail is twisted (thus the name). The wool on a back is gray, sometimes — pinkish-brown, the limbs are gray colored; the head and a neck are dark gray. A stomach and the paw’s inner side is white, a muzzle is white with dark triangular stains around eyes and a black nose. There are 13 black and white strips on the lemur’s tail. The long tail serves monkeys for signal exchange between relatives, as the smell spreader, and also for maintenance of balance while climbing and jumping. The ring-tailed lemur’s weight can reach 3,5 kg, at the same time the tail’s weight can be more than 1,5 kg.
It should be noted that the Feldman Ecopark has the biggest collection of primates in Ukraine. There are over 200 animals of 30 species here. In general, it is a home for over 2,000 animals.
