Retiring in Florida isn’t just for humans anymore.
The illegal pet lemur that was seized from its owner after biting a 2-year-old in Nederland on July 20 is now at a wildlife sanctuary in Florida.
Oliver the lemur was placed on a 30-day quarantine as a precaution, but that quarantine ended Monday with a clean bill of health for the exotic primate.
“There was no doubt rabies wouldn’t be an issue, but it was absolutely a necessity to make sure,” said Larry Rogstad, an area wildlife manager with Colorado Parks and Wildlife. “But he did not display any of the issues associated with rabies or any other diseases.”
While Oliver’s quarantine technically ended Monday, Rogstad said that because the lemur was symptom-free, it was sent to Florida last week, where it joins other lemurs at the Endangered Primate Foundation, a sanctuary in Jacksonville, Fla.
“We were able to buy him an airplane ticket and ship him down to Florida,” Rogstad said. “We were able to work through all the paperwork that is involved in getting a lemur across the country.”
But in addition to paperwork, Rogstad said getting Oliver on a plane wasn’t as easy as just dropping the primate off at the terminal. The animal had to fly at a certain time so temperatures were right, and it had to have a special crate designed for lemurs.
It was also more expensive than Rogstad.
“I figured it would be a little cheaper to fly a lemur, and I figured I would fly lemur-class next time,” Rogstad said. “But no, it was just as expensive as flying a human.”
Luckily, Oliver won’t need to sign up for any frequent flier programs. The Endangered Primate Foundation — which already has eight lemurs in its care, most of which also were illegal pets like Oliver — will be where it spends the rest of its days.
“It will be a one-way trip,” Rogstad said. “It’s a longer-term rest-of-life facility.”
Lemurs are native to Madagascar and most species are endangered.
Oliver’s former owner was cited for having an aggressive animal.
But aside from the criminal case, Rogstad said Oliver is now free to live the rest of its life with other lemurs, rather than Coloradans.
“We can consider this lemur case closed,” Rogstad said.
Mitchell Byars: 303-473-1329, byarsm@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/mitchellbyars
