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Archive -Seychelles

Lemur on the loose in port area |14 March 2018

 

 

 

The Bio-Security Agency has reported that a lemur is apparently roaming the port area and they are gathering necessary information from members of the public to capture the animal.

The incident was reported on February 26 by the Ministry of Environment and all stakeholders such as the Bio-Security Agency, Port Authority, and Health Department along with the Ministry of Environment are working tirelessly to capture the animal.

The lemur arrived here on a boat from Zanzibar, and it’s not the first time that such creature has been seen in our country.

Last year a lemur escaped from a cargo ship also from Zanzibar, but was later captured by the Bio-Security Agency.

At a press conference held at the Bio-Security Agency headquarters yesterday, the chief plant bio-security officer Keven Nancy stated that members of the public should not spread inaccurate information on social media regarding the whereabouts of the animal. 

Also present at the meeting were the principal veterinary officer Jimmy Melanie and the principal bio-security officer Randy Stravens.

“Members of the public are providing us with the necessary information to capture the animal. We are also working with the health department and the Port Authority to set up an animal trap where the animal was spotted,” Mr Nancy said.

The Bio-Security Agency advises members of the public not to capture the animal themselves in case of any transmissible diseases it may carry.

Members of the public should provide the agency with adequate information so as to capture the animal.

Mr Nancy added that better security should be implemented within the port area so as to prevent such an incident from happening again.

“This incident should be taken seriously, and better measures should be put in place to prevent such incident from happening again. We have not yet been able to locate the animal, but we are still working to capture it,” he said.

If anyone has any information of the whereabouts of the lemur, or have seen it, do not hesitate to contact Green-Line on 2722111.

The lemur is a large prosimian (representing forms that were ancestral to monkeys, apes and humans), belonging to the family Lemuridae.

Like all other lemurs, it is found only on the island of Madagascar and the Comoros Islands off of the East Coast of Africa.

The animal can easily be recognised by its long, bushy tail that is circled with black and white rings.

 

 

 

 

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