Today, the National Zoological Gardens in Dehiwela will get three ring-tailed lemurs (lemur catta)-two females and one male-from the Rare Species Breeding Centre in London, through an animal exchange programme.

Education Officer of the Zoo Nihal Senerath told The Island yesterday that in return they had given a pair of giant squirrels and a rusty spotted cat.

"Certainly, we benefited from this deal as lemurs are rare animals", he said.

The World Conservation Union’s (-IUCN’s) Red List Assessment has classified ring-tailed lemurs as a vulnerable species. With less than 10 per cent of the original forests remaining in Madagascar, habitat destruction is the number one factor that threatens the extinction of all lemur species.