Trees are blooming, prairie dog pups are popping and the lemurs are back on Lemur Lane — all sure signs that spring has finally arrived at The Maryland Zoo! The Zoo now opens at 9:30 am each Friday, Saturday and Sunday throughout the summer. The Zoo is also open late the second Saturday of each month through September making tomorrow, Saturday May 9th the first “After Hours with the Animals.” The Zoo will remain open until 7:00 pm tomorrow evening and admission is only $10 per person after 4:00 pm. Take advantage of these new extended hours this Mother’s Day weekend and see:

Prairie dog pups! Zoo staff closely watch Prairie Dog Town in early May for the first signs of prairie dog pups. Black-tailed prairie dog moms give birth in underground nurseries and the young remain underground for about the first 6 weeks of life. This week the first of the pups were spotted venturing above ground, just in time for Mother’s Day weekend!

Camel rides! The summer resident camels have arrived and they are ready for Zoo visitors to take the ride of a lifetime! Through Labor Day, Zoo guests can ride one of our visiting Dromedary camels, Rose and Bo, while visiting the Zoo. This weekend, say Happy Mother’s Day to Rose, who gave birth on March 26 to a male calf. He stays close to Mom and will be here with her all summer long. Camel rides are offered at the Zoo daily, from 10:30 am until 4:00 pm, for $7.00 per person.

All the lemurs are back outside on Lemur Lane! Warmer overnight temperatures have allowed the Zoo’s ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta), red ruffed lemurs (Varecia variegata rubra)and Coquerel’s sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi coquereli) to move back outside for the summer. Lemur Lane is located between the Giraffe House and the Chimpanzee Forest.

Don’t forget to visit the Farmyard and see the littlest goat kids Chloe and Clark. The kids were born on Tuesday, March 10, 2015, to the Zoo’s African pygmy goat pair Lex and Lois and have quickly become a Zoo favorite.

The giraffes also have a “spring” in their step! There is a lot of activity at the Giraffe Feeding Station where Zoo visitors can get eye-to-eye with these gentle giants of the Savannah. Zoo regulars know that the Giraffe Feeding Station features a gated feeding area where they can purchase browse and feed the giraffe, as well as a separate deck for viewing and photography.

On exhibit soon — a male sitatunga calf was born on April 27 to six-year-old Lela and seven-year-old Hurley, the Zoo’s sitatunga breeding pair. “The baby is nursing very well, and Lela is a very attentive, experienced mother,” stated Carey Ricciardone, mammal collection and conservation manager at the Zoo. “He is full of energy, a true sitatunga male, although he is sticking close to his mother for now and bonding behind the scenes.” Zoo visitors should able to see Lela and her calf exploring outdoors for short periods of time in the coming week.

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