Visit the Ghost Cats of Drusillas Park this Halloween

As Halloween approaches, keepers at Drusillas Park have noticed an increase in the number of strange and eerie calls at night, as they carry out their evening checks. The noises appear to be coming from the direction of Lemurland, where the zoo’s popular ring-tailed lemurs reside.

The scientific name for ring-tailed lemurs is lemur catta meaning ghost cat in latin! The species earned this name due to their ability to move stealthily through the trees in almost deathly silence as well as their wide staring eyes which give a somewhat spooky demeanour. The lemurs are also cat-like in size and appearance, with white angular ears.

However, lemurs are not always quiet; they have a complex and distinct array of vocalisations including wailing, cackling and shrieking. Their mysterious howl is audible up to half a mile away and it is this noise that has been causing the keepers quite a fright.   

Zoo Keeper, Jodie Dryden commented: “The lemurs tend to howl at the end of the day and they seem particularly vocal at the moment; the sound can be quite menacing especially at night when the Park is closed. The evenings are drawing in now and the lemurs have made me jump on several occasions whilst carrying out my evening checks. I think they just do it to scare me but I can definitely see why they are named ghost cats.”

However, this is not the only unusual happenings taking place at the Park this month. Visitors can also enjoy lots of eerie events during Shriek Week from 26^th October to 3^rd November. For more information visit our Halloween page.