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\f0\fs24 \cf0 Podcasts on UNCTV.org are made possible by financial contributions of viewers
like you, who invite you to join them in supporting UNC-TV.\
\ Kelly McCullen: The North Carolina Zoo is
now welcoming everyone to visit its new \'93Lemur Island\'94 exhibit. Lemurs are new to the
zoo but these creatures are about sixty million years old. \
\ Natural Sound\
\ Kelly Mc: All wild lemurs live on one island
off the African coast. So, it's primatologists and zoo-keepers, like the North Carolina Zoo's
Becky Kloepfer, who make us possible for us to see lemurs without leaving the state.\
\ Becky Kloepfer: A lot of people think of them
as raccoons or cat-like or raccoon-like. They are primates. Lemurs are called prosimians,
which means that they're more primitive than monkeys and apes. They're only found in one
place. They're found in Madagascar. \ \
Kelly Mc: It's easy to spot characteristics in lemurs you might assign to other animals.
But lemurs have unique qualities. They're an older species than monkeys so don't let
the familiar characteristics fool you.\ \
Becky Kloepfer: Some of the differences between Lemurs and monkeys. Lemurs actually have a
much longer muzzle-like nose than a monkey does. And they actually have a moist nose.
And they use their sense of smell a lot more than other primates do. And they also have
ears that move independently of one another which you really won't see on a monkey or
an ape. \ \
Kelly Mc: The North Carolina Zoo's lemurs beg for food as well as any family dog, seem
to hop like a kangaroo, climb like a chimpanzee and yet give off the vibe of a house cat.
Young lemurs are quite spunky with the older generation acting like any other senior citizen
\'96 minus the rocking chair. \ \
Becky Kloepfer: Our lemurs on the island range in age from 1 to 23. Nemo is obviously the
oldest. They can live until their late twenties, though and he's in great health, so we hope
to have him for a long time. And this is one of our little 1-year-olds here. \
\ Kelly Mc: Two \'93red-ruff\'94 lemurs share
Lemur Island with a gang of playful, \'93ring-tailed\'94 lemurs. \
\ Becky Kloepfer: This is our female, \'93Weezy.\'94
She's 3-years-old. She came from the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa, Florida as did George,
our male. \'93Come here, George. Come here, Buddy.\'94 Red-ruffed lemurs are mainly fruitivores,
which means they eat a majority of their diet as fruit. They do eat some leaves and plants.
Natural Sounds \'96 Ring Tail Lemurs Playing\ \
Becky Kloepfer: Our ring-tailed lemurs, on the other hand, they eat more leaves. They'll
eat some insects and even some small animals. So, they're way more general in their food
choices. \ \
Kelly Mc: When it comes to the characters who inhabit Lemur Island, the lemurs feature
their own attitude and \'96 in primitive primate way \'96 style. \
\ Kelly Mc: What types of personalities do you
see among the lemurs?\ \
Becky Kloepfer: A lot of different personalities, actually. One of our younger males is very
very outgoing. He'll get right up in your face. He wants all the food. He wants all
the attention. He's also really good at training because he's so motivated by the food. The
Red-ruffs are both real laid back, very mellow. We have one older lemur, who's a male, that's
very mellow as well. So, they do have all different personalities and you have to take
that into account when you're working with them because we all want to make them comfortable
around us. \ \
Kelly Mc: Lemurs live in groups. The Red-Ruffed Lemurs and Ring-Tail Lemurs have their own
small neighborhoods on the zoo's Lemur Island. The creature also enjoy a social heirarchy
that keeps relationships in order. \ \
Kelly Mc: Does Daddy rule the roost or does Mama?\
\ Becky Kloepfer: Mama rules the roost, especially
with the ring-tails. Mama is definitely in charge. They have a matriarchial society,
which means there is generally a dominant female. She basically calls all the shots.
The males \'96 there's usually one or two older males that are higher up in that hierarchy
but, for the most part, the males are down on the bottom. \
\ Kelly Mc: The little lemur world that's open
at the North Carolina Zoo will give you a chance to see the endangered species climb,
interact and thrive without booking a trip to Madagascar.\
\ }