Zoo birth boost for at-risk species

Three ring-tailed lemurs have been born at Bristol Zoo within days of each other.

Twins were born to Ethel and less than 72 hours later another ringtailed lemur, Mavis, also gave birth.

The tiny babies are clinging tightly to their mothers and it will be some months before the keepers are able to tell whether they are boys or girls.

Ethel and Mavis, who are twin sisters, produced babies 12 months ago when they gave birth on the same night.

The zoo now has 11 of the endangered species, which is found only in the forests of Madagascar, an island off south-east Africa where destruction and degradation of their forest home is the biggest threat to their survival.