Zoo Tales

Many of the animals at Colchester Zoo are classified as endangered or vulnerable.  More than 40 species are part of European Endangered Species breeding programmes.

These programmes co-ordinate breeding of animals between European zoos, and oversee any transfers in order to maintain a healthy population.  Then should one of the species become extremely rare in the wild, the possibility of reintroduction could be considered.

Ring-tailed lemurs are endangered

The Ring-tailed lemur is grey with a white chest and a distinctive black and white ringed tail.  They use their tails to help them balance when they're up in trees, they also use it to communicate with one and other.  The males use their tails when they are competing for females - they have stink fights.  Lemurs have scent glands all over their body which they use to mark their territory.  The males rub their glands on their wrists and  tails, they face each other and flick the ends of their tails wafting their scent.  The smelliest one wins.

Baby Cleo was born in April

The zoo has a collection of nine ring-tailed lemurs.  The newest arrival is Cleo who was born on Friday, 13, April.  At the moment she isn't straying too far from mum - within a year she'll be about the same size as an adult.

Colchester Zoo supports lemurs in Madagascar through two campaigns.  Since 2004 they have worked with a French organisation - AECL - working in north west Madagascar, where one of their major goals is to create a national park.  The second campaign links all European Zoos as part of  the Madagascar campaign working to protect not just lemurs but the fossa, tenrecs and other species which inhabit Madagascar.

BBC Essex's Renee Hockley-Byam spoke to Conservation Manager Rebecca Perry and head keeper of the primates, Paula Smith about the lemurs of Madagascar ...