Tim's milky Mikaly's new mum (From Western Telegraph)

Tim's milky Mikaly's new mum

6:31pm Saturday 7th June 2008 in News

A tiny baby lemur owes its life to its surrogate mum - animal-loving Tim Morphew.

Tim, zoo manager at Folly Farm, has adopted the fragile little creature after it was rejected by its mother.

With two-hourly hand feeds on the timetable for the next three months, Tim can be forgiven for the odd yawn as he goes about his work in the tourist attraction.

But it's all worthwhile to rear the red-ruffed lemur - the first of its breed to be born at Folly Farm.

"It's very tiring having to look after a baby 24/7, as every mother can testify," said Tim. "But it's also hugely rewarding for myself and the zoo staff to be involved in a successful breeding."

The new baby - who was born weighing just four grammes above the survival limit for his species -took just one-tenth of a teaspoon of milk at his first feed, but he's now feeding well.

"So well, in fact, he has been named Mikaly, which in his native Madagascan tongue means eating," said Tim.

When not enjoying his feeds of infant formula milk, Mikaly snuggles up to a toy red-ruffed lemur and sleeps on a hot water bottle which is wrapped in a fluffy towel.