Stumped for a present idea
Britain’s oldest ring-tailed lemur celebrated his 30th birthday at the Five sisters Zoo in West Calder.
stumpy, named after his unusually small tail, spent the day with his five sons at his enclosure in the zoo.
and he was treated to a special edible lemur cake containing trio munch, sugar-free jelly, cranberries and raisins to mark the milestone on June 14.
the lemur has now beaten the average life expectancy of his species by a decade and in human years he is 115.
primate keeper gemma Varley said:“He’s incredibly old because ring-tailed lemurs would usually live to be 20 in the wild.
“He had a very big birthday party and was spoilt rotten on his 30th. He had an edible lemur cake, lots of presents and a tea party with his sons.
“We made happy birthday banners for around his enclosure and a wee box of presents to explore.”
stumpy was moved to the Five sisters Zoo in 2005 and has stayed there with his sons ever since.
Despite his age, his only health problem is a touch of arthritis which he gets treatment for daily.
gemma continued: “stumpy is very easy-going and loves to sunbathe and also to groom. We believe him to be the oldest living captive ring-tailed lemur with official paperwork in the uK and no one has ever said otherwise.
“We are just delighted to have him and his sons at the zoo. they are loved by all the staff and visitors.”
ring-tailed lemurs are found only on the african island of Madagascar and some small neighbouring islands.
although they spend a lot of the time on the ground, they use their hands and feet to move through trees.
In the wild they live in groups known as troops which include between six and 30 animals, presided over by a dominant female.
they are an endangered species in the wild because the dry forest terrain that they love is quickly vanishing.