Rare bamboo lemur

There is only thought to be 500 left in the wild

A critically endangered bamboo lemur has arrived at its new home in Port Lympne Wild Animal Park near Ashford.

The female greater bamboo lemur, known as Belle, is one of the rarest animals in the world with just 500 thought to be left in the wild.

Head primate keeper, Simon Jeffrey said: “Manantena - or Belle as the keepers call her, because she’s so pretty - travelled well and was looked after throughout her journey from France. She was calm and settled when she arrived here and is already out and about exploring her new surroundings.”

The species is native to Madagascar and are often referred to as the Madagascan panda as they rely entirely on bamboo as their food source.

Due to mass deforestation causing destruction of their habitat, combined with hunting using sling shots; they are now listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List.

Even giant panda numbers are estimated to be five times that of the bamboo lemur with 2,500 in the wild.

Jeffrey added: “Sadly this species is critically endangered due to the loss of bamboo. Bamboo lemurs are one of the 25 most endangered primates in the world, with only 19 in animal collections, captive breeding programmes like ours are vital to ensure that this wonderful species survives.”

The Aspinall Foundation which works in conjunction with the wild animal park is currently carrying out surveys in Madagascar to establish the population of greater bamboo lemurs left in the wild. The survey has produced evidence of the lemur from eleven different sites across a 370,000 hectare region.

Chairman of The Aspinall Foundation, Damian Aspinall, said: “Searching for the world’s rarest and most elusive lemur in this remote forest was a big gamble but sometimes that’s what it takes to help save a species from the brink of extinction.”

For further information visit www.aspinallfoundation.org/portlympne