Sometimes…you just need to hold a lemur. Have you ever felt that way? I’ve been a huge fan of lemurs for most of my life, but hadn’t really thought about holding them. So when the Indian Creek Zoo added a lemur encounter to its available opportunities this year, my wife jumped at the chance to sign us up. And we’re not the only ones – the zoo has already expanded these encounters to happen seven days/week. Not convinced yet? Let me tell you about our experience.
About the Zoo
The Indian Creek Zoo is located in southeast Michigan, just 20 minutes or so from Toledo, Ohio. This is a small, relatively young zoo, having opened their doors in 2014. We visited back in 2016, and were excited to make another trip this summer. The zoo provides an opportunity to get close to the animals through feeding opportunities and encounters, so that you might have a connection with the animals. While this began with being able to hand feed animals like goats, llamas, and baby bison, it has expanded to include encounters with giraffes, sloths, and lemurs.
Meeting Dill and Pickles
Our lemur encounter with Dill and Pickles, two of the zoo’s five lemurs, took place in their enclosure. These sisters are both under four years old, and according to Zookeeper Laura, trained to be able to participate in these encounters for about a year. These two were playful and extremely sweet. Within minutes the lemurs had no problem jumping onto our backs and shoulders, as we offered them some cheerios as a reward. In addition to the honey nut cheerios and banana baby food that we fed them, a lemur’s diet will also include fruit and seeds.
During the encounter, we were free to walk around in the enclosure. As long as we had treats, Dill and Pickles would leap across the logs, branches, and ropes in the exhibit to keep up with us. They would land on the side walls of the exhibit, or sometimes our arms, shoulders, back, and even our heads! Lemurs are native to Madagascar, an island off the east coast of Africa. We were able to witness most of the behaviors they would exhibit there, at this small zoo in Ohio. Zookeeper Laura believes that encounters like this give people the opportunity to bond with the lemurs, in hopes that they will join the cause to help prevent the destruction of their natural habitat in Madagascar.
Having Fun with the Lemurs
At about 20-25 minutes into our lemur encounter, they began to slowly tire of the treats that we had for them. Laura explained that lemurs love a good nap. While Pickles began to retreat to a box in the corner, Laura says that sometimes they will relax in the sun, or even make a yoga-like pose. Lemurs also enjoying being snuggled up together in a group.
Our encounter with the lemurs lasted about a half hour, but honestly we could have stayed in that exhibit all afternoon. The thing that surprised us most about Dill and Pickles was how incredibly soft they were. Sure, we expected their fur to be soft, but their hands were so dainty and delicate. They would constantly grab on to our fingers and hang on while they ate cheerios. Lemurs are also extremely curious animals. Dill and Pickles loved getting as close as they could to our cameras!
Schedule Your Encounter Today
If you’re interested in an encounter like this, we encourage you to check it out at Indian Creek Zoo’s website. These encounters are for ages 14 and older, and are currently $65 per person. Does this seems pricy to you? It’s actually a pretty average price. Lemur encounters are $100/person at the North Georgia Zoo, $85/person (including admission) at Branson’s Promised Land Zoo, and $67.50/person at the Good Zoo in Ogelbay, West Virginia. If you happen to be in the south, there are a few places where this is cheaper. The Gulf Shores Zoo in Alabama has lemur encounters for $20/person, and the Austin Aquarium has them for $12/person.
Thank you for reading about our lemur encounter! Want to learn about others? Check out one of the following:
- Summary of our favorite encounters
- Sloth Encounter
- Tamandua Encounter
- Bison Feeding
- Penguin Encounter
- Flamingo Mingle
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