MARWELL Zoo's latest arrival is keen to take a peep at his exciting new surroundings.

This tiny tot is a baby black and white ruffed lemur and was born on May 5 at the park near Winchester.

Unlike the majority of lemur species who carry their babies around after birth, ruffed lemurs give birth in concealed nests and as the baby gets older the mother leaves her baby "parked" safely while she forages for food.

Lemurs are from the island of Madagascar, off East Africa, and because of hunting and the destruction of their habitat, their numbers are declining rapidly.

The good news is that babies like this one are helping to ensure a future for the endangered animals.

Marwell is a member of the Madagascar Fauna Group which is dedicated to the conservation of threatened Malagasy species and their habitats.

It has been shown that captive-bred lemurs can be successfully released into reserves - giving hope that the lemurs may escape extinction in the wild.