Captive breeding programmes for nocturnal prosimians

Due to the nocturnal and arboreal nature of nocturnal prosimians field research on these species is limited. Maintaining populations in zoos provides an opportunity to increase our knowledge of these elusive species. This study aimed to update and contribute to the limited research on captive populations of nocturnal prosimians. The study consists of two parts. Part one aimed to identify the current European captive population of six nocturnal prosimian species (aye-aye, fat-tailed dwarf lemur, Goodman’s mouse lemur, grey mouse lemur, grey slender loris and pygmy slow loris) and determine their demographic self-sustainability. To achieve this aim studbook data was analysed. The difference between birth and death rates, infant mortality rates, age structure and sex composition were investigated. The study concludes populations of aye-aye, fat-tailed dwarf lemur, grey slender loris and pygmy slow loris were not self-sustaining whereas Goodman’s mouse lemur are self-sustaining and grey mouse lemur were found to have an increasing population trend. Part two focussed on the European captive population of pygmy slow loris and grey slender loris. This section sort to determine if husbandry methods affect breeding success. This involved conducting a survey of the current husbandry methods used in 20 European zoos. Statistical tests were carried out to determine if there was a correlation between institution breeding success and the husbandry methods used. The study concludes that there was a significant correlation between institution breeding success and the interval duration between cleaning the fixed enclosure furniture (P=0.030). Results also strongly suggested pygmy slow lorises housed with another species have a higher breeding success than those housed as a single-species exhibit