Ikala the ring-tailed lemur injured her tail and had to have it amputated after the fourth vertebrae. Photo / Supplied
Ikala the ring-tailed lemur injured her tail and had to have it amputated after the fourth vertebrae. Photo / Supplied
A ring-tailed lemur at Wellington Zoo has a slightly different spring in her step after vets had to amputate most of her tail - leaving her with a hairless stump.
Ten-month-old Ikala, previously nicknamed “kinky tail” by zookeepers, is recovering well after having the tail amputated yesterday, primate keeper Lisa Ridley said.
Keepers first noticed something wrong with her tail a few months ago, spying a kink that caused her tail to hang lower than the rest of the troop, Ridley said.
Ikala was operated on at Wellington Zoo yesterday. Photo / Supplied
“Ring-tailed lemurs always have their tails up high, using it for communication and balance,” she said. “We just monitored it for the last few months.”
The kink in Ikala’s tail did not hinder her in any way and did not appear to bother her, but in the last couple of weeks Ridley started to notice the tip of her tail was red from dragging on the ground. It would turn red and heal only, to turn red again.
The keepers decided to put her under general anaesthetic so a vet could get a better look at the tail. They discovered from X-rays she had either dislocated or broken the fifth vertebrae in her tail at some point.
Ikala is already recovering well. Photo / Supplied
“We don’t know how she’s done it ... she’s a lemur, they jump, run around, do everything.”
It was possible she had injured herself while “playing rough” with her troop of 13, which included seven young siblings.
They decided it would be best to amputate the tail as she would continue hurting it if it kept dragging on the ground, and she would “always be on medication” to help the tail heal.
Ikala's tail before its amputation. Photo / Supplied
The majority of the tail was amputated, leaving Ikala with four vertebrae remaining.
Ikala has already returned to her troop, who treated her like “Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer”.
“They all had a bit of a look,” Ridley said.
Ikala, post-amputation. Photo / Supplied
Tails are “quite important” for ring-tailed lemurs, who use them for balance as they jump, run and climb. They also walk around with their tails in the air so members of troop can spot each other easily, for example, in long grass.
“In saying that, she’s only young and she’s going to acclimatise really well.”
Ring-tailed lemurs also have 22 types of vocal communication, so Ikala would have no issues communicating with her troop.
As for balance, Ikala has already been running and jumping with relative ease - even with a bit of a wobble.
“She can still jump, let me tell you,” said Ridley, saying she had spotted Ikala jumping “three odd metres” today, which her stump of a tail doing its best to help her balance.
“To be honest, she just looks a little different. She’s now unique.”
Melissa Nightingale is a Wellington-based reporter who covers crime, justice and news in the capital. She joined the Herald in 2016 and has worked as a journalist for 10 years.
