Land of Lemurs lands at the Calgary Zoo

There are three new species of furry little friends at the Calgary Zoo now that the Land of Lemursis open for business.

The first of its kind in Canada and the first new exhibit to open at the zoo in five years, Land of Lemursallows visitors to enter the lemurs' habitat and interactwith the cute little creaturesin a barrier-free setting.

Land of Lemurs ishome to13 lemurs fromthree endangered species.Fans ofthe Madagascar movies or the children's show Zoboomafoowill be familiar with the ring-tailed lemur,but there are alsoblack-and-white ruffed andred-fronted lemurs leaping and lounging in the new exhibit, which opened Wednesday.

Population and conservation

Trish Exton-Parderwith the Calgary Zoo saidLand of Lemurs offersmore thana chance toget up close and personalwith some cuddly creatures. The zoo is hopingto help increase the population of these endangered species by helping fundconservation programs inMadagascar.

"First of all, the reason that we're having lemurs is because they are one of the most endangered primates and a really important species for us to make everybody aware of in Madagascar,"Exton-Parder told the CalgaryEyeopener.

Out of the 101 known lemur species, about 94 per cent are at risk of extinction.Madagascar has lost upwardof 80 per centof its original forest due to farming, logging and mining practices, posing athreatto the lemur population in the wild.

Experts believe that if changes aren't made,many lemur species could be extinct in the wild by 2050.

In an effort to increase the wild lemur population, the zoo will be working to develop tree nurseries to aid in reforestation,assisting withpopulation monitoring in the wildandworking with thepeopleof Madagascar tointegrategreen technologiesin their communities to preserve the lemurs' habitat.

Helping the habitat

"These kinds of community conservation programs help us link what we're doing here to help people learn about these endangered species and know that we're going to make an incredible impact where their homeland is in Madagascar,"Exton-Pardersaid.

But the lemurs' aren't completely defenceless.

Lemurs in the wild are also helping out with reforestation by eating plant life and spreadingthe seedsthrough their droppings.

"(Lemurs) are critical to disperse the seeds of plants and the fruits they're consuming," said Dr. Clment Lanthier, president and CEO of the Calgary Zoo. "And when the seeds pass their digestive track ... the probability of those plants to propagate well in the forest will significantly increase."

Of the three species at the new exhibit, the black-and-white ruffed lemurs are most endangered, andExton-Pardersaid the Calgary Zoo will eventually be part of a breeding program to help get their numbers up in captivity.

"So what's even cuter than a lemur? Perhaps a baby one," Exton-Parder said.

Calgarianscan get to know the residents in the Land of Lemursfrom 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days a week.

• MORE CALGARY NEWS|Penguin Walk returns to the Calgary Zoo
• MORE CALGARY NEWS|Meet Baby Eddy: Calgary Zoo's king penguin gets suitably royal name Edward