Camperdown Wildlife Centre is delighted to announce the arrival of a troop of 11 endangered Lion-Tailed Macaques this weekend. Preparations for their arrival are well underway and visitors will get the first chance to see them this Sunday. The centre will be closed to the public on Saturday 28 October to allow them time to settle in, the zoo will then reopen on Sunday (29 October) at 10am when the new arrivals are expected to be very popular.

The troop are coming from Belfast Zoo and consists of 4 males and 7 females. The youngest was born in June 2017 is 4 months and the oldest nearly 20 years old and was born in December 1997. Staff having been working behind the scenes to prepare their enclosure which had an extra house added with holding area plus 3 climbing frames and ropes connecting them to the two sycamore trees.

They are classed as endangered and the total wild population is estimated to be less than 4,000 individuals, made up of 47 isolated subpopulations in seven different locations. These subpopulations tend to be small and in forest fragments that are isolated from each other.  Mainly arboreal, this species prefers the upper canopy of primary tropical evergreen rainforest but may also be found in monsoon forest in hilly country and in disturbed forest. This species is endemic to the Western Ghats hill ranges in southwestern India from the Kalakkadu Hills north to Anshi Ghat, in the states of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Although the species has a relatively wide range, its area of occupancy is small and severely fragmented.

Aileen Whitelaw at Camperdown Wildlife Centre said

“This is very exciting news for the centre and we can’t wait to welcome the public on Sunday. We expect the macaques to be extremely popular with visitors and we are delighted they will get an early chance to see them. A number of authorities across the country still have school holidays and we hope that families will take the opportunity to visit Dundee this weekend for a final outing.”

Camperdown Wildlife Centre opens daily 10am-3.30pm October to February and 10am to 4.30pm March to September. Last admission is 45 minutes before close.