My second week is done! And as my placement is split in to three sections of six, over four weeks, I am past halfway. This week has been a lot more enrichment based, not only making creative ways to hide food for Squirrel Monkeys Simia sciureus but also Lemurs and Lorikeets.
Out of these the Lemurs are one of my favourite areas. With four different species, all with distinct personality traits, it’s a hard section to get bored on. The first, most well known species, is of course the Ring Tail Lemur Lemur catta, made famous by the film Madagascar. However as the tour guides here like to say, there is one thing DreamWorks got wrong as Julian should be female. In Lemur hierarchy, it is the females that are the biggest and most dominant. With two babies born just four months ago the enclosure currently gives a perfect display of the communal rearing method in Lemurs, with all members of the group involved. Their tails are a key component in this, as reconcilable back and white tails allow individuals to reconsider their own family members. This is particularly useful when hiding in bushes, as it prevents individuals attacking their own family.
The other Lemur species include the Black and White Ruffed Varecia variegata, Red-bellies Eulemur rubriventer and Red-fronted Eulemur rufifrons. Out of all the Lemurs the loudest is the Black and Whites; growing to around 4.5kg they make the second largest noise of all primates, with the largest bark of any animal their size. This bark is how Lemurs got their name, as explorers heard their calls and believed they were ghosts, when they finally ventured in to the forest they found the lemurs and gave the name as it loosely translates to ghost. However this is not always be beneficial as their large size and thick fur means they are hunted continuously. As they only occur naturally in Madagascar, like all Lemurs, this has lead to the species becoming critically endangered. Of the individuals at Woburn Mia, a male now 26, is the oldest aged way past the wild expectations of around 13. Along with him the last Red-fronted, Ronnie, is also above his expected age at 16. A complete softy, he is secretly everyone’s favourite. His species is one with very noticeable sexual dimorphism as the males are greyish in colour whilst the females are much more brown-red.
Sexual dimorphism is also obvious in the Red-fronted Lemurs as the makes have small white patches under their eyes. At Woburn however this is even more obvious as Bonaire, the only male has lost half his tail. The two girls are also much more mischievous as mother and daughter team, Angel and Rouge. They will sniff out and attempt, often successfully to steal food from people’s backpacks on the walkway. This is possible as like all lemurs they have a snout like nose for a brilliant sense of smell. The snout is a feature which clearly distinguishes Lemurs from Monkeys, as they are in fact prosimians which evolved before Monkeys. Another feature seen across all lemurs is their tail, used purely for balance; it can not support their weight, similar to that of cats.
As well as Lemurs this week I have been working in the Lorikeet house which has three species, Rainbow Lorikeets Trichoglossus haematodus, Red Lorys Eos bornea and Dusky Lorys Pseudeos fuscata. Although similar, there are a few differences between Lorys and Lorikeets. Visibly, Lorikeets are shorter with longer, more pointed tails. In here it is the Dusky Lory which are the most dominant, and therefore the species which visitors see and feed the most. However this is also helped as there are 10 individuals, more than double the amount of individuals in this species than the rainbow (2) and reds (4) combined. Their diet consists mainly of Neckton but also includes a small amount of fruit if needed. I enjoyed making enrichment in here particularly as there were lots of different combinations that can be made.
Another one of the best sections is Desert Springs and Marmosets. They have 12 Meerkats Suricata suricatta at the park, who are great at escaping. They originate from the grasslands at the tip of Africa, and are part of the same family as the Yellow Mongoose Cynictis penicillata also at Woburn. Of these they have two parents Brazil and Sybil, with their two daughters. Both of these have a diet consisting largely of cricket and meal worms but are capable of catching larger animals. The mongoose family proved this by catching a Jackal Buzzard between them and eating it. Also on this shift we visit the African Crested Porcupine Hystrix cristata Nolco, although she is fearful of people so is rarely seen.
Next we move on to Marmosets Callithrix jacchus and Azara's Agouti Dasyprocta azarae. Agouti despite being one of the less well known species in the park, play a critical role in the environment. Being the only animal with teeth strong enough to open Brazil nuts, the trees survival is greatly dependent on them. The large rodent species is found from Central to South America, and spend the majority of their time looking for food. When resting the agouti will stay in burrows, tree hollows or in nest beds they have made. The Marmosets on the other hand are often favourites. These tiny primates enjoy running and jumping about in their enclosure. Within this group Barney is the oldest and is given his own locust daily to ensure he receives enough food.
I have also been on most of the animals I wrote about last week, as well as farmyard and food prep. As my time at the park has increased so has my interaction with the public. After gathering knowledge on both species and individuals I have enjoyed being able to help keepers answer questions, and engage in conversations on my own.
Some examples of enrichment I made can be seen here; starting with Lemurs, then Lorikeets:
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