Twin lemurs are born at Happy Hollow Park & Zoo
As visitors return to San Jose Happy Hollow Park & Zoo this summer, they’ll be greeted with an exciting new addition: two tiny baby lemur pups leaping their way around the zoo in the Hollow exhibit.
On April 16, the zoo’s black-and-white ruffed lemur mama, Vintana, gave birth to two “thriving” twin pups. Though they don’t have names yet, zoo officials have plans to start accepting recommendations from the public sometime in May, when they confirm the gender of the babies.
“The birth of any newborn animal at the zoo is cause for celebration, but the birth of an endangered species is momentous,” Happy Hollow General Manager Kiersten Mccormick said in a news release.
The birth of the twins marks four children for 7-year-old Vintana and Nify, a 19-year-old male. The pair had their first son, Loka, in 2018 and a daughter, Koa, in April 2020.
Just like any parent of newborns, Vintana is keeping a close watch on them.
The mom and pups are currently spending most of their time in a behindthe-scenes den off from the main exhibit so that Vintana can focus on bonding with them without the distractions of the father, siblings and other onlookers. But Vintana has been spotted a few times picking the little ones up in her mouth and bringing them out to the main space for a few short stints, which lucky guests may be able to catch a glimpse of.
“As they grow and become braver and more curious, people will see them poking their heads out on their own, and eventually, they’ll be all over the place,” zoo Curator Heather Vrzal said in an interview Friday. “Mom will pick them up and take them back into the night box if she thinks there is too much noise.”
The pups eventually will grow to 7-10 pounds, but at this point, they each weigh less than a half of a pound.
“Both pups are bright and alert and on track weight-wise for their age,” Rachel Atkins, Happy Hollow’s veterinary technician, said in a news release. “We will continue monitoring them very closely, but so far we are ecstatic to see them thriving.”
Black-and-white ruffed lemurs, which originate from Madagascar and are named for the tufts of hair on their ears and faces, are considered critically endangered
because of habitat loss, wildlife trafficking and climate change.
Happy Hollow is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums to breed the animals and help them to avoid extinction through a program known as the Species Survival Plan.
“Conservation is a huge part of what we do at Happy Hollow, but a lot of that can go unnoticed,” Vrzal said. “So it’s really exciting to be able to share something like this with everyone.”
Happy Hollow is open daily for a modified experience, branded Walk Through the Zoo. Visitors are required to abide by mandatory health screenings upon entry, wear a mask while at the zoo and reserve tickets for specific entry times. The rides within the zoo remain closed, but two large play and eating areas are now open for visitors.