Bloomington family finds endangered ring-tailed lemur in their garage

BLOOMINGTON — A Bloomington family was surprised to find an endangered ring-tailed lemur in their garage Thursday morning after hearing unusual sounds there the night before.

With help from the Illinois Conservation Police and Miller Park Zoo, the ring-tailed lemur — which the family named “King Julian” after the popular “Madagascar” movies — has been captured and is now under the zoo’s care.

“I greatly appreciate that the family asked for help in recovering this animal,” Miller Park Zoo Director Jay Pratte stated Friday morning. “We will work with the IDNR (Illinois Department of Natural Resources) on the next steps of King Julian’s journey.”

Officials are unsure where the animal came from, and the Illinois Conservation Police, along with local authorities, are investigating the ownership and permitting for the animal, according to a news release from the City of Bloomington.

Ring-tailed lemurs are native to the island of Madagascar and are listed as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species.

The lemur is a social species that has evolved to live in large troops, engaging in social interactions with members of its own species, according to the news release. They should not be kept as pets.

Pratte said he and his staff first found out about the lemur through a now-removed post on the “Lost-Found Pets in Bloomington-Normal” Facebook group.

The family was advised by a veterinarian who lives in their neighborhood to contact the Illinois Conservation Police, which was when Miller Park Zoo was notified, Pratte said.

“We didn’t know what this animal was going to be like, and based on my lack of surprise about this, I suspect that it was likely someone’s illegal pet that got loose,” Pratte said. “We took nets, gloves and protective equipment because being a non-human primate, they can carry the zoonotic diseases and they have large, sharp canine teeth.”

Zoonotic diseases are highly transmissible and can spread between humans and animals. More than two-thirds of all emerging infectious diseases in humans are zoonotic, according to the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

Pratte said they were able to catch the lemur, which has now been transferred to a quarantined area of the zoo. The animal will stay there until the zoo receives more information from the IDNR.

“They’re going to have to investigate and see if there is a legitimate legal owner of this animal, and then it there is not, they will officially confiscate it and we would assist them, if requested, in finding another home,” Pratte said.

Although stumbling upon a lemur would be surprising to most, Pratte said he has previously seen instances of people obtaining exotic pets. He also consults with other zoos when they come across illegally obtained or mistreated reptiles, birds and other primates.

Unfortunately, Pratte said, it is very common to find species of South American monkeys kept as pets.

“People don’t think about the consequences with what’s happening to the animal and the psychological distress that they’re undergoing by not being able to engage in their normal behaviors,” Pratte said. “There’s a ton of risks that people don’t think about or know about, because it’s a cute animal to have or they saw a celebrity with one. It’s a mess.”

All lemurs are protected by the Federal Endangered Species Act and should be managed under expert care by qualified zoological organizations, the city’s news release stated.

Anyone with information about this animal’s origin is asked to call the Illinois Conservation Police at 877-236-7529.