Might be time to change your Easter plans.

Fota Wildlife Park has announced the birth of five new primates and if you’re heading down for a visit this week you might be among the first to meet them.

Three endangered baby ring-tailed lemurs and two black and white colobus monkeys have been born at the Park as part of breeding programmes for threatened species in European zoos.

The baby lemurs were born on March 11th and on March 17th to mums who both arrived at Fota from the Wildlands Adventure Zoo Emmen in the Netherlands in 2019 as part of a new breeding group.

Merlot, the father of the babies, who was born in 2020; arrived in June last year from France.

On March 9th and March 15th, two baby black and white colobus monkeys were also born in Fota Wildlife Park. Their mothers who were born in 2017 came from Bonjnice Zoo in Slovakia and their father Tom who was born in 2006 came to Fota Wildlife Park from Belfast Zoo in 2011.

This year Fota Wildlife Park is celebrating its 40th Anniversary with a live programme of events for Easter including Wildlife Talks, Animal Feeding Times, and Live Workshops.

Over the next two weeks, visitors can take part in an interactive workshop on plants and biodiversity with Peter Dowdall, learn about the wonders of the animal world with daily wildlife talks hosted by the Education Department in Fota Wildlife Park, watch the rangers as they feed the animals in the Park and enjoy award-winning Learnit Lego workshops.