Some of the lemurs of Madagascar! came to the zoo from other zoos or parks. How did we decide which animals should be part of these new groups? As always, we worked with other zoos and the national Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).

Zoo populations of most species, especially those that are vulnerable or endangered in the wild, are managed cooperatively by various specialist groups within the AZA. For example, a list is kept of every individual collared lemur in North American zoos. The AZA group in charge of collared lemurs monitors which animal is where, and which male and female lemurs could use some matchmaking – all to maintain a genetically diverse collared lemur population and provide suitable social groups for individual animals.

When it comes to zoo population planning, one of our collared lemurs is a star. Vera, the youngest female, will be the most important collared lemur in North America when she reaches breeding age. She represents a genetic lineage that will help sustain the population in North American zoos for years to come.

Vera doesn’t know how important she is to her kind – she only knows how important she is to us!