Goodbye, little Fali

Sunday 22 January 2017

He was one of Durrell’s littlest friends, but one with a big impact, having shared in 26 years of the conservation trust’s story. This week, Durrell said goodbye to Fali the lemur.

Having spent over a quarter century at the Trinity grounds, Fali was the last survivor of a group of 10 gentle lemurs to be brought to the Island by Gerald and Lee Durrell.

When he arrived as part of the Euroepan breeding programme in November 1990, Fali was but only a few months old, weighing just 545 grams.

Two years later, the gentle lemur found a mate in Andila, who moved with him to the zoo’s large valley enclosure in 1998. Fali went on to have 17 children, who in turn gave birth to 79 descendants.

But his impressive contributions to his own endangered species span beyond breeding.

Until now, it had not been possible to confirm a gentle lemur’s life span, as Fali was the oldest of the original Madagascar bunch. But he lived for a thriving 26 years, filling his days jumping through the reeds at Lemur Lake and delving into the trees of Kirindy Forest.

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Fali, the oldest gentle lemur at Durrell Wildlife Park. https://t.co/kbwy5lNc4J pic.twitter.com/WdCM1QXmIY

— Durrell Wildlife (@DurrellWildlife) January 19, 2017

Lee Durrell paid tribute to her gentle friend, stating:

“It seems only yesterday that Gerry and I were at Lake Alaotra, tracking down bandro (the Malagasy name for the gentle lemur) for the breeding programme back in Jersey.

“In fact, our expedition to Madagascar happened more than a quarter of a century ago! But I well remember the youngster Fali escaping from his travelling crate and climbing the curtains in our hotel room where we kept all the bandro before their long journey to Jersey.

“Rest in peace, dear Fali, and thank you for what you have done for your species.”