Vol. 15 - Deutsches Primatenzentrum

Lemur News Vol. 15, 2010 Page 27
Muldoon, K.M.; de Blieux, D.D.; Simons, E.L.; Chatrath, P.S.
2009.The subfossil occurrence and paleoecological significance
of small mammals at Ankilitelo cave,southwestern
Madagascar. Journ. Mammology 90 (5): 1111-1131.
Muldoon,K.M.;Simons,E.L.2007.Ecogeographic Size Variation
in Small-Bodied Subfossil Primates From Ankilitelo,
Southwestern Madagascar.Am.J.Phys.Anth.134:152-161.
Orlando, L.; Calvignac, S.; Schnebelen, C.; Douady, C.J.; Godfrey,
L.R.; Hänni, C. 2008. DNA from extinct giant lemurs
links archaeolemurids to extant indriids.BMC Evolutionary
Biology 8: 121.
Simons,E.L.1997.Lemurs:Old and New.In S.M.Goodman;B.
D.Patterson (eds.). Natural Change and Human Impact in
Madagascar. Smithsonian Inst. Press, Washington, D.C.
Tattersall, I. M. 1982. The Primates of Madagascar. Columbia
Univ. Press.
Husbandry guidelines for mouse lemurs
at Paris Zoo
Delphine Roullet
Parc Zoologique de Paris, MNHN, 53 avenue de Saint Maurice,
75012 Paris, France, roullet@mnhn.fr
There are two species of mouse lemur in captivity in Europe:
the grey mouse lemur, Microcebus murinus, and the Goodman’s
mouse lemur, Microcebus lehilahytsara (Pes, 2009). The
European captive population of grey mouse lemurs was
established at the end of the 1960s and is now composed of
165 individuals (778.77.10; Pes, 2009),distributed in 29 institutions.
The population of this species is of unknown origin.
According to recent morphological measurements (Pes,
2009) and preliminary results of mtDNA studies (Roos,
2008, in Pes, 2009), this population can be divided into two
pure lineages:one composed of pure breed animals from the
region of Vohimena (SW Madagascar),and the other of pure
breed animals from the region of Mandena (SE Madagascar).
A third lineage is composed of hybrids between the two pure
lineages (Pes, 2009).
The European captive population of Goodman’s mouse lemurs
was established in 2005 and is currently composed of
62 individuals (33.29; Pes, 2009) distributed in two institutions.
The first animals were imported from the area of
Andasibé, Madagascar. They were recognized as a new species
when they arrived in Europe (Rübel, pers. comm.).
The Parc Zoologique de Paris has a success story with the
grey mouse lemurs. The most important group arrived in
December 1990 and was composed of 79 individuals. The
origin of the animals that arrived in the 1980s is unknown.
According to the analysis of the European captive population
(conducted by Tomas Pes for the ESB), the animals coming
from Paris appear to be hybrids between the two pure lineages
described above (Pes, pers. comm.).
The first births occurred in 1991 only a few months after the
arrival of the first animals.During the period of 1991 to 2004,
when the last grey mouse lemurs eventually left the zoo after
the closing of the nocturnal area, there had been a total of
224 successful births (young surviving longer than two
months), with an 86.5 % birth success rate. 1994 was the
most prolific year with 56 successful births. The colony of
grey mouse lemurs in Paris occasionally reached more than
150 individuals.
Before 2001, we didn’t know much about the animals, especially
the composition of the groups.Eleven females were the
founders of the colony in Paris. Since the identity of the fathers
was not recorded, the filiations were only built from
the females. Potentially,28 males could have been the founders
of the colony.
Before 2002, most of the females lived alone in small cages
and were introduced to males (of various group sizes) only
during the few days of oestrus. The females were kept isolated
again afterwards.The young were separated from their
mothers just after their weaning to join a young animals
group.
In 2002 we decided to implement some changes in the management
of the colony in order to improve the wellbeing of
the animals: to increase the space available to them, to rearrange
the enclosures according to the wild habitat of the animals,
to carry out enclosure enrichment, and to re-constitute
the groups to make them more similar to the ones observed
in the wild. The following husbandry guidelines were
established according to the new management of the colony
set up in 2002.
Only single sex groups could be seen by the public.The breeding
groups were kept in a separated building. Moreover,
from 2002 onwards,we limited the number of births (around
10 per year) in order to be able to keep all the animals in
good conditions (and no longer in small cages as had been
done in the past).
Facility standards
1. Enclosure
Size: The enclosure should have a minimum total floor size
of 4 m² with a minimum height of 2 m for both male and female
groups.For a mother with her young,the enclosure can
be smaller during the first month.After this period,the young
start to explore their environment and need more space.
Temperature: 20°C (18-22° C). Not below 18° C. Below
this temperature, the animals enter torpor. Torpor can also
be provoked by intense stress such as prolonged capture of
an animal.
Inside Humidity: 50-70 %.
Lighting and photoperiod:Similar to that found in Madagascar
or Europe but the photoperiod must vary during the
year for breeding.
Furniture: Dense environment with thin branches and
leaves. The animals need to have many places to hide from
people and also from each other when they live in groups,especially
when the animals are unrelated.
Nest box (see Fig. 1):
Size: 12x12x12 cm
Entry diameter: 5 cm
It’s very important to provide one nest box per animal,in
different places, even if they sleep together. This allows
them to be alone if they want to be.
Fig.1:Grey mouse lemurs (Microcebus murinus) in nest box at
Paris Zoo. (Photo: F.-G. Grandin, MNHN)