News

King Julien the Festive Lemur

King Julien the giant Lemur can often be seen at the Lake District Wildlife Park. He enjoys saying hello to children and is very good at posing for photographs. He helps with fundraising events for SEED Madagascar, the conservation charity supported by the Park to help protect Lemurs in the wild.

King Julien is most frequently seen at the Lake District Wildlife Park in the summer months but has been keeping his distance this year. However, he has been known to wrap up warm and make an appearance at Christmas. This year he realised that the Park has been closed a little more than usual and decided to get up to some festive mischief. The Keepers and the staff noticed that some strange things were happening…

One morning when Hannah the cover Keeper was doing her rounds feeding the Tapirs, Otters, Red Pandas and Lynx she noticed some things were not quite as they should have been. The Christmas Tree in the nativity area was missing most of its baubles and there was wrapping paper on the playground. Most distressing of all was the disappearance of the chocolates from the staff room and a tray of freshly baked mince pies missing from the café. What was going on?

It wasn’t long before the Keepers realised that someone or something was being a bit naughty! Keeping a close watch, King Julien the Lemur was caught in the act, helping himself to the chocolates and generally misbehaving. They decided that the best course of action was to entertain Julien and show him how to have a good day out at the Lake District Wildlife Park.

King Julien was taken to the Living Nativity area where he fed Annie and Dooley the Donkeys and Niko and Arlo the Dwarf Zebu Cows. He learnt about the Nativity story and saw Mary and Joseph in the stable with baby Jesus in a manger. He met the Tapirs Muffin and Zico and said hello to the laughing Kookaburras Oats and Raisin. He listened to the Reptile and Bug talk, where he got to see a Royal Python, a Bearded Dragon and a Giant Spiny Stick Insect. He did admit he was just a little bit scared of the snake! As he was being so well behaved, the Keepers decided Julien should have a bit of fun on the adventure playground. The swing and the slide were his favourites.

The highlight of Julien’s day was being allowed to meet the Meerkats, which is part of the Ultimate Animal Experience. The Meerkat mob being a gregarious bunch didn’t hold back and he had a fantastic time. He finally had to admit that being good wasn’t such a bad thing after all. He had a great day meeting and feeding the animals. He promised the Keepers he would behave in the future and wouldn’t eat any more of their chocolates. Finally, King Julien suggested that it might be a good idea to meet some children over the festive period and fill the Park with Christmas cheer!

Please visit our website and Facebook page for more details of what is happening at the Lake District Wildlife Park over the festive period.www.lakedistrictwilidlifepark.co.uk