Animal

Britain’s ‘oldest living lemur’ celebrates 35th birthday


Stumpy is still in good health, despite living nearly twice the average life expectancy for his species (Picture: Five Sisters Zoo)

A ring-tailed lemur, thought to be the oldest in captivity, has celebrated his 35th birthday at a Scottish Zoo.

Stumpy has defied the odds and lived to the grand old age thanks to his handlers at Five Sisters Zoo in West Calder, West Lothian.

He was born in 1986, a year which also saw the release of films Top Gun and Crocodile Dundee as well as the completion of the M25 motorway.

Stumpy is the same age as Lady Gaga and Rafael Nadal and shares a special day with former US president Donald Trump, who turned 75 yesterday, and Boy George who celebrated his 60th.

The zoo marked the occasion by buying him a ‘lemur friendly’ birthday cake, consisting of some of Stumpy’s favourite foods including lettuce, sweetcorn and berries.

In the wild, lemurs usually die aged 12 to 15 and in captivity between the ages of 20 and 25.

A father-of-five, Stumpy is named after his shorter-than-usual stumpy tail and remains in relatively good health.

He suffers from arthritis in his claws, has lost some teeth and walks with a stoop but is still active and a firm favourite at the zoo.

Stumpy was born in 1986 (Picture: Five Sisters Zoo)
He had a lemur-friendly birthday cake (Picture: Five Sisters Zoo)
Stumpy is named after his shorter than average tail (Picture: Five Sisters Zoo)

Pictures showed him celebrating the big day by eating a piece of his cake while posing next to a portrait of himself.

A spokeswoman for Five Sisters Zoo said today: ‘Yesterday we celebrated Stumpy’s 35th birthday with a lemur friendly birthday cake and gifts from his keepers.

‘Stumpy defied the odds as he celebrated his birthday as the ring-tailed species usually only live till around 25. We believe Stumpy to be one of the oldest lemurs in captivity.’

Last year, Bella, a brown lemur at the Isle of Wight Zoo died a few months after turning 38.

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