Lemur Observation Essay

For this learning assignment, I went to the Pittsburgh Zoo and decided to observe the Lemur exhibit. Lemurs are native to Madagascar. Most lemurs live their lives in trees, but some also live on the ground. Their tails are longer than their body. They have pseudo-opposing thumbs and long toes so that they can climb and hold on to things. Their approximate life span is about eighteen years. Lemurs cannot hang by their tail, which is a common myth. Grooming and socializing is part of their family life. I arrived at the exhibit at around two. There were three thin, tall windows to which people could observe the lemurs. The enclosure was made up of fake rocks, trees, tree branches, ropes and metal fencing that caged the lemurs in from the rest of the animals. At the bottom of the enclosure, between two of the fake rocks, there was a puddle of water for drinking and bathing. I must have missed feeding time because there were half eaten pieces of lettuce and carrots lying around the enclosure. The enclosure seemed like it was a decent amount of space for the lemurs to roam around, but I would have like to have seen it bigger. I felt as though there weren’t a lot of places for the lemurs to go …show more content…
The new lemur came from the side of the enclosure. This lemur decided to move to the middle of the enclosure where the first lemur was. It sat down beside the first lemur and modeled its posture to be the same. They both laid in the sun for about five minutes until the first lemur started to move closer to the other lemur to groom it. The first lemur started to lick and grasp the other lemur’s fur. This is something that lemurs do as part of their social interactions. This is when both lemurs started to groom one another. While one lemur was grooming the other’s head, the other lemur would groom the other’s tail or stomach. Grooming is something that lemurs do