Europe's first coquerel’s sifaka lemur baby born at Chester Zoo

A species on the brink of extinction has been successfully bred at Chester Zoo - making it the first in Europe to do so.

Zookeepers are celebrating the "landmark" birth of the extremely rare 'dancing' lemur baby, which is close to extinction in the wild.

The fuzzy coquerel’s sifaka lemur, which weighs 199 grams, arrived 18 months after its parents, Beatrice and Elliott, were relocated from the USA for a vital breeding programme.

Mark Brayshaw, Curator of Mammals at the zoo, said: “Beatrice is feeding her new arrival regularly and is keeping it nestled in her fur as she leaps from tree to tree.

"In a few weeks’ time, the baby will graduate to riding on her back, before branching out and learning to climb trees independently at around six months old.

"It won’t be long until this bright-eyed baby will be bouncing 20ft between tree to tree just like its parents."

Sifakas are much more distinguishable than other breeds because of the unique way that they move which has given them the nickname 'dancing lemurs'

Experts say they maintain an upright posture, using only their back legs, and can leap more than 20ft through the treetops in a single bound.

Currently only seven coquerel’s sifaka lemur are cared for in three zoos in Europe and the family at Chester Zoo are the only ones living in the UK.

In the past 30 years, the species has suffered an 80% decline in their population due to deforestation in their homeland of Madagascar.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) list the species as critically endangered in the wild in 2018 - its highest conservation priority.

In the latest podcast episode of From the North we ask should suicide prevention be taught in schools?