Two critically endangered black and white ruffed lemurs have been born at the south coast's Mogo Zoo, an "insurance policy" for the primates which are now very rare in the wild.
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The one-month-old babies have been informally dubbed Lou and Chalkie, after two Mogo zookeepers who both happened to share their birthday with the lemurs.
"Normally, mum and and dad will ask them to leave. Not so politely."
"They're moving about quite a lot now, really exploring their environment," curator Lou Grossfeldt said.
But the population of black and white ruffed lemurs in the wild - they are endemic to Madagascar - is declining.
"These guys face a very uncertain future," Ms Grossfeldt said. "They face the usual population threats, like an ever increasing human population, deforestation.
"These guys are also hunted and consumed as food in Madagascar."
As one of the biggest species of lemurs, and the fact they are mostly active during the day, the black and white ruffed lemurs make an attractive target for hunters.
"Slash-and-burn" agriculture, logging and mining are also contributing to population decline.
They are in the level 1 category on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) list, the most critical level of endangered species.
Lou and Chalkie's parents are part of a controlled international breeding program, and before the babies were born on November 17, the last time they had offspring was in 2012.
At just over a month old, the babies are still heavily dependent on their mother, but gnawed on slices of zucchini and had started to test the fruits and vegetables that make up the bulk of the ruffed lemur's diet.
Ms Grossfeldt said the lemurs are fully developed by 8 or 9 months, and fully weaned by two years, at which point they would leave the group.
"Normally, mum and and dad will ask them to leave. Not so politely," she said.
Lemurs are territorial creatures and, for now at least, and despite the baby boy and girl's new found freedom, their mother keeps a close eye on them and any human who gets too close.
Once fully grown, Ms Grossfeldt hoped Mogo Zoo's two baby lemurs would be transferred to another zoo or animal organisation and go on to contribute to the breeding program.
The babies have not yet been formally named.
