6/3/2006

A bittersweet farewell took place at Folly Farm, Kilgetty,
Pembrokeshire, as zoo staff said goodbye to six of their beloved ringtailed lemurs.

The lemurs were picked up by staff from Scotland's Blair Drummond Safari Park, where they will begin a new life with another group of lemurs.

Said Folly Farm's Tim Morphew, "It's very sad to say goodbye to such charismatic animals- but really we're very happy to see them go. Their breeding here at Folly Farm has been so successful that their enclosure was reaching capacity and it was time for some of the group to move on."

According to Tim, the lemurs' departure is great for the species, and great for Folly Farm. "It's a mark of the success of our zoo's breeding programme for this endangered species, which has come such a long way in a short space of time. We're now in a position where we're breeding endangered animals like these and providing other zoos with the chance to do the same. As
a zoo, we're playing a fantastic conservation role."

In the wild, ringtail lemurs are found only on the island of Madagascar, and like all species of lemur they are at risk of extinction due to habitat destruction and hunting by humans.

While Tim waved goodbye to last year's babies, he made it clear there was one lemur he wouldn't be parting with. Trelow, the abandoned baby Tim hand-reared in 2004, will remain at Folly Farm with his surrogate father, along with 12 other ringtails. Trelow is doing well at Folly Farm and even has a new girlfriend.

Folly Farm added a zoo to its many attractions in 2002, and it has been a main focus for the company ever since. Now with nearly 500 animals at Folly Farm, it offers an unparalleled conservation education, focusing on the zoo animals.