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Rare baby lemur called an aye-aye weighed at San Diego Zoo

Rare baby lemur called an aye-aye weighed at San Diego Zoo

Rare Newborn Blue-Eyed Black Lemur Raises Hopes to Save Species

A rare female newborn blue-eyed black lemur, Ikopa, was moved to the La Palmyre Zoo nursery in Les Mathes, France to receive special care due to her fragility and low weight. Born on April 9, Ikopa continues to receive special care from her keepers, who feel her milk every two hours, as well as bits of fruits and vegetables. While Ikopa musters up enough strength to leave her incubators, her parents and older brother can maintain visual contact with her from their adjacent cage. Blue-eyed black lemurs, like all true lemurs can only be found on the African island nation of Madagascar and their numbers have drastically fallen. These primates are classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as "critically endangered" because humans have cut down nearly all the forest areas which these animals call home to clear land for farming. It is believed that as few as 1,000 blue-eyed black lemurs remain in the wild.