Baby lemurs arrive at Colasanti’s Tropical Gardens

Two little balls of fur with big eyes have upped the cute quotient at Colasanti’s Tropical Gardens.

A brother and sister pair of ring-tailed lemurs made their first appearance Tuesday at the Ruthven attraction that includes a zoo.

“They’re very cute. You can’t deny that,” zoo manager Ashley Colasanti-Furtado said.

She went to Ottawa Monday to pick up the lemurs that were born May 8. Colasanti’s Tropical Gardens had two lemurs for more than a decade but they were older and needed a calmer atmosphere so they were moved.

Ashley Colasanti-Furtado feeds a pair of Lemurs in their enclosure at Colasanti’s Tropical Gardens in Ruthven on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2015. The pair are the latest addition to the zoo area. (TYLER BROWNBRIDGE/The Windsor Star)

The friendly newcomers are already attracting crowds and seem to like the attention, said Colasanti-Furtado, granddaughter of owner Joe Colasanti.

“They are just exploring. They’re tasting everything. They’re smelling everything. They’re climbing on everything,” she said. “They’ve never seen a window before so they’re looking at their reflection this morning, kind of getting used to what’s going on there.”

Ring-tailed lemurs are endangered primates found on the African island of Madagascar and are popular in zoos. They’re well known to kids thanks to the movie Madagascar and the PBS show Zoboomafoo.

The lemurs arrived in Ruthven just in time for this weekend’s Apple Festival. They don’t have names but there will be a Facebook contest to name them soon, she said.

A pair of Lemurs play in their enclosure at Colasanti’s Tropical Gardens in Ruthven on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2015. The pair are the latest addition to the zoo area. (TYLER BROWNBRIDGE/The Windsor Star)

Each one weighs a couple pounds and they tried raisins for the first time Tuesday.

“Right away they were hooked. They ate it up and were looking for more,” Colasanti-Furtado said.

The lemurs also like tomatoes, peppers, green beans, bananas, grapes, lettuce, melons, strawberries and oranges.

The OSPCA (Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), which inspects the zoo and petting farm, recommended a privately owned zoo in Ottawa for finding new lemurs. Colasanti’s Tropical Gardens, which purchased the pair, was patiently waiting for the babies, she said.

The lemurs join Colasanti’s menagerie which includes a 10-foot long alligator, a Burmese python, a Patagonian cavy that looks like a large rabbit, a pot-bellied pig, pygmy goats, deer, llamas, emus and Emit the chatty Catalina macaw.

shill@windsorstar.com

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Ashley Colasanti-Furtado feeds a pair of Lemurs in their enclosure at Colasanti’s Tropical Gardens in Ruthven on Tuesday, September 22, 2015. The pair are the latest addition to the zoo area. (TYLER BROWNBRIDGE/The Windsor Star)

A pair of Lemurs play in their enclosure at Colasanti’s Tropical Gardens in Ruthven on Tuesday, September 22, 2015. The pair are the latest addition to the zoo area. (TYLER BROWNBRIDGE/The Windsor Star)