Entertainment Swindon

Halloween arrived early for Longleat’s lemurs as keepers provided them with some pumpkin treats to mark World Lemur Day on Friday 25 October.

Ronnie, one of Longleat’s female ring-tailed Lemurs, and her family, enjoys a seasonal surprise thanks to her keepers.

Head of Animal Operations, Darren Beasley, said “It’s always great to see how the animals react to seasonal enrichment. It’s important that we encourage their natural behaviours and introduce them to new experiences, and they loved exploring the pumpkins.”

“Lemurs naturally spend a lot of their time foraging for food, whether it’s leaves, plants or fruit, and giving them the opportunity to forage in a different way is always interesting to see how they react.”

Ronnie lives in a group – known as a Conspiracy – in the Wiltshire Safari Park’s Lemur walk-through in African Village where visitors can get out of their car and walk next to both ring tailed and brown lemurs.

Her habitat features rope swings and wooden walkways giving the lemurs the perfect opportunity to demonstrate their extraordinary agility and climbing skills.

The name Lemur derives from the Latin word lemurs which means ghost and the Madagascan primates are at risk in the wild due to a combination of habitat loss, deforestation and hunting.