Lemurs the latest attraction

Lemurs the latest attraction

The black and white ruffled lemur

The oldest primates on the planet are the stars of the new enclosure at Woburn Safari Park in Bedfordshire.

Land of the Lemurs was opened by the Lady Tavistock and her daughter 19-month-old Lady Alexandra.

Visitors can walk along raised walkways up the trees among free-ranging lemurs.

Three species live in the enclosure - the black and white ruffled lemur, the red fronted lemur and the red bellied lemur.

While the future of the lemurs at Woburn may be assured, that of their wild cousin is much less certain.

Lemurs are found in the wild only on the island of Madagascar, where they are hunted for food, and the Comoro Islands.

There are only 60 red bellied lemurs in captivity worldwide

There are 50 species of lemurs and 17 are on the endangered species list.

Dr Jake Veasey, animal collections manager at the safari park, said: "A lot of lemur species are quite well-established in zoos and people forget they are incredibly endangered in the wild.

"The way things are going in Madasgacar the entire population could be wiped out in 20 years."

The word lemur means ghost - they were thought to embody the spirits of the dead .

Programmes like the one at Woburn are set up to ensure lemurs are not consigned to history.