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Endangered Lemur Found In Backyard Was Likely Part Of Black Market Pet Trade

SACRAMENTO (KCBS) -- An endangered ring-tailed lemur that was likely part of the black market pet trade is now being cared for at the Sacramento Zoo.

The Department of Fish and Wildlife picked up the two-year-old male lemur in December after it was found by a homeowner wandering in their Turlock backyard.

Because it displayed behavior indicating it hadn't lived with other lemurs, and the fact that no sanctuaries reported one missing, an expert at the Oakland Zoo says it's likely the endangered animal escaped, or was let loose by somebody nearby who was keeping it illegally.

"In general they take them away from their parents when they're very young, and they don't get the right nutrition, they don't get the right socialization," Liz Abram, Lead Lemur Keeper at the Oakland Zoo said.

Zoo officials say they will care for the lemur temporarily, but it will eventually go to a facility where it can learn to live with other wildlife.

Abram says the primates should never be kept as pets.

"Unlike dogs and cats, which have been domesticated for over 10,000 years, these guys are not domesticated whatsoever. They're wild animals, and they need to be around their own species,"

All lemurs are endangered.

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