Black-and-white ruffed lemur News

At Lemur Island, school is always in session for our ring-tailed and black-and-white ruffed residents. Learn how primate keeper Lynne McMahan has trained the lemurs to voluntarily participate in awake radiographs!

Big bright eyes, bounding leaps and vivacious vocalizations—there’s no denying that lemurs are downright adorable! Every October, we celebrate World Lemur Day to raise awareness of these endangered primates from Madagascar. Meet our animal ambassadors—and learn how you can help their wild cousins—in...

We’re leaping for joy and celebrating World Lemur Day at Smithsonian’s National Zoo! This special holiday—which takes place the last Friday in October—is the perfect occasion for learning all about our lemur friends.

If you have visited the Zoo during the summer, then you know it can get hot, muggy and buggy here in Washington, D.C.! Find out how keepers use enrichment to help animals stay cool in the heat.

During your next visit to Smithsonian’s National Zoo, be on the lookout for two friendly new faces at Lemur Island! Three-year-old collared lemur brothers Bentley and Beemer made their debut at the end of July.

Our lemurs celebrated their birthdays April 6 with a gorgeous cherry blossom-themed cake! Get the story behind the celebration from primate keeper Emily Bricker.

Grab a delicious snack with prehensile-tailed porcupine Quilliam, have a ball watching our cheetah cubs play and behold beaver Aspen as he fells a tree. July brought about many exciting moments, not the least of which was the reopening of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo! Before you plan your visit...

Chirping cheetah cubs, a birthday party fit for a gorilla and a Madagascar hedgehog tenrec indulging in some self-care with a dust bath—all of these events (and more) made for an eventful month.

Lemurs like to do more than move it, move it. At the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, these primates party! Every April, animal keepers throw a big birthday bash for the Zoo’s ring-tailed lemurs, black-and-white ruffed lemurs and red-fronted lemur to raise awareness about these critically endangered...

Ever wondered what it would be like to care for an endangered animal? For the team who works with the Smithsonian's National Zoo's primates-- gibbons, siamangs, lemurs, orangutans and gorillas, among others-- the job entails thinking of creative ways to provide these intelligent animals with...