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A 'natural habitat' is helping captive creatures to thrive in HK

Living conditions designed to feel like home have helped increase the population of endangered primates  by six in Hong Kong in the past few months.

Two black and white ruffed lemurs, three ring-tailed lemurs and one white-faced saki have been born in the Zoological and Botanical gardens this year.

The twin black and white ruffed lemurs are the first born in the city and their arrival in April brought the total at the gardens to five.

The ring-tailed lemur triplets were born in March, bringing the total population to 10 and the number of white-faced saki rose to five with the lone birth in January.

Staff at the gardens attributed the successful breeding to thoughtful zoo caretakers whose sensitivity to the needs of primates had helped the reproductive process.

Benjamin Hung Tak-chuen,  senior leisure manager at the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, said: 'Our animal caretakers tried to make  the primates' living environment more like their natural habitat  so that they can feel like  they are at home where they can relax.'

The home improvements included such details as selection and placement of plants and branches in the cages.

'When they feel homey and relaxed, the reproduction and breeding process has a higher success rate,' Mr Hung said.

'We are very excited about the births, as it is the first time black and white ruffed lemurs have been bred in Hong Kong, and it is rare for ring-tailed lemurs to have triplets.'

He said the hot and humid weather was similar to the primates' home countries, which made it easier for them to settle in.

Black and white ruffed lemurs are from eastern Madagascar, an island off the eastern coast of Africa.

'For the first few weeks after birth, the infants are left in their nests and later carried in their mothers' mouths, and this is a rare act for primates. When they are six months old, they can be on their own,' Mr Hung said.

Ring-tailed lemurs live in the open-wooded terrain of southern Madagascar, and the white-faced sakis are from rainforests in the Amazon River basin.

Mr Hung said the population of the three species  continued to fall in the world because of the loss of rainforests, their natural habitat.

'They have also been killed by hunters  for food or  kept as pets,' he said.

He reminded  the public not to throw food into the primates' cages or to shout when they visited them in the gardens.



For rare primates,  a touch of home is breeding success