Lemur Street is a British television show

Television program

A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...

 produced by Oxford Scientific Films

Oxford Scientific Films

Oxford Scientific Films is a British company that produces natural history and documentary programmes. Founded on 8 July 1968 by noted documentary filmmaker Gerald Thompson, the independent film company broke new ground in the world of documentaries, using new filming techniques and capturing...

 for Animal Planet International

Animal Planet

Animal Planet is an American cable tv specialty channel that launched on October 1, 1996. It is distributed by Discovery Communications. A high-definition simulcast of the channel launched on September 1, 2007.-History:...

 that is based on the successful format of Meerkat Manor

Meerkat Manor

Meerkat Manor is a British television programme produced by Oxford Scientific Films for Animal Planet International that premiered in September 2005 and ran for four series until its cancellation in August 2008...

. The series premiered in the United Kingdom on 20 November 2007 on the UK Animal Planet network with Martin Shaw

Martin Shaw

Martin Shaw is an English actor. He is best known for his roles in shows such as The Professionals, The Chief, Judge John Deed and Inspector George Gently.-Theatrical background:...

 narrating.

On 8 February 2008 it aired in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 under the name Lemur Kingdom. Fourteen episodes airing through 9 May 2008. It was removed from the air with the return of the channel's top series, Meerkat Manor. It aired in Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 on TVO

TVOntario

TVOntario, often referred to only as TVO , is a publicly funded, educational English-language television station and media organization in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is operated by the Ontario Educational Communications Authority, a Crown corporation owned by the Government of Ontario...

 from 13 February 2008 through 16 April 2008, and on Knowledge from 2 April 2008 through 31 May 2008 using its original name of Lemur Street. Each episode is thirty minutes in length. Renowned primatologist Alison Jolly

Alison Jolly

Alison Jolly is a primatologist, known for her studies of lemur biology. She has written several books for both popular and scientific audiences and conducted extensive fieldwork on Lemurs in Madagascar, primarily at the Berenty Reserve, a small private reserve of gallery forest set in the...

 is the series scientific consultant, and Joanne Lunt is the producer

Television producer

The primary role of a television Producer is to allow all aspects of video production, ranging from show idea development and cast hiring to shoot supervision and fact-checking...

.

Lemur Street is due to be released in a three disc DVD set in the United Kingdom in September 2008 by Eureka Entertainment.

Production details

The twenty-episode series focuses on two competing matriarchal Ring-tailed Lemur

Ring-tailed Lemur

The ring-tailed lemur is a large strepsirrhine primate and the most recognized lemur due to its long, black and white ringed tail. It belongs to Lemuridae, one of five lemur families. It is the only member of the Lemur genus. Like all lemurs it is endemic to the island of Madagascar...

 gangs in the Berenty Reserve

Berenty Reserve

Berenty Reserve is a small private reserve of gallery forest along the Mandrake river, set in the semi-arid spiny forest ecoregion of the far south of Madagascar. For more than three decades the primatologist Alison Jolly , researchers and students have visited Berenty to conduct fieldwork on lemurs...

 in Madagascar

Madagascar

The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...

. Along with following the lemurs battles for dominance, against their natural enemies, and against each other, the series is reported to include the first professionally-recorded footage of a ring-tailed lemur birth.

Robin Smith, who filmed several series of Meerkat Manor

Meerkat Manor

Meerkat Manor is a British television programme produced by Oxford Scientific Films for Animal Planet International that premiered in September 2005 and ran for four series until its cancellation in August 2008...

, is the cinematographer for Lemur Street.

National variations

The content of the UK and US versions of the programme are the same for most episodes, however Animal Planet US renamed the show to Lemur Kingdom, added names for the episodes - which were referred to only by number in the UK - and renamed the lemur groups and some individual lemurs. The group called The Tornadoes in Lemur Street have been renamed to "The Furies". Furies was chosen by Animal Planet US because of the constant in fighting between the three families that make up the group. Crystal, the dominant female of the Graveyards, has been renamed to Juno, and her mate Blake was renamed to Marcus.

Tornadoes

This group is made up of three separate families of lemurs and has approximately twenty members. In the US broadcast, they have been renamed to the "Furies" because of the regular fighting between the three families.

Amazon

Four years old, Amazon is a first time mother who ignores and neglects her first son, Gizmo. Her neglectful nature leads to the rest of the troupe doing the same, and Gizmo's eventual death after he injures a leg. When she gives birth to her second baby, Orinoco, Amazon is a more attentive and caring mother. Between the fifth and six episodes, she and her mother Flame viciously attack and dethrone the pregnant Electra. Though she initially allows Electra to remain as the lowest ranking member of the troupe, after Electra gives birth, Amazon evicts her from the troupe.

Electra

At the start of the series, Electra is the queen of the group and known for her bad-temper. In the sixth episode, while she is pregnant, Amazon and Flame dethrone Electra. Electra goes into premature labor, giving birth to a son who is named Prince. After she gives birth, Amazon, joined by her sister Snowflake and mother Flame, evicts Electra and Prince from the group. During the night, however, Prince is unable to maintain his hold on his mother and falls from the tree where they are sleeping. Electra finds his body in the morning and mourns his death, guarding the body for several hours before leaving to return to the protection of the forest.

Gizmo

Amazon's first son, who was born late and is the runt of the litter. At the start of the series, he is five-months old and regularly neglected by his mother. He falls from a tree and injures his left rear leg after an unprovoked attack by spoiled princess Chelsea. He tries to keep up with the troop, but with his injuries he is often left behind and dies in the third episode. It is unclear how he died, though the narration suggests it was a predator.

Graveyards

Made up of only one family, this twenty-member gang is named from the fact that they live in an old graveyard

Graveyard

A graveyard is any place set aside for long-term burial of the dead, with or without monuments such as headstones...

. In the US broadcast, their name is changed to the "Graveyard Gang".

Crystal

The steady dominant female of the Graveyards who has led the group for four years. In the seventh episode, Crystal gives birth to her first baby Jasmine. In the US broadcast, her name has been changed to Juno.

Blake

The aging dominant male facing growing competition for his position from the younger lemurs. During a battle with Flash, the dominant male of the Tornadoes, Blake receives a bad slash to one of his right front paw. In the US broadcast, he has been renamed to Marcus.

Peg Leg

At thirteen years old, Peg Leg is the oldest, and lowest ranking, member of the group. He lost one of his back legs to a dog attack 11 years before the start of the series. Peg Leg usually gets out of the way during battles, and avoids the mating fights. Despite his having only three legs, Crystal chooses him as her mate when she comes into heat. Crystal later gives birth to her first baby, Jasmine. He is frequently in the company of his sidekick Nimbus, another low ranking male. After six years with the Graveyard Gang, Peg Leg, joined by Nimbus, attempted to leave the troop to find a new one, an act called dispersal that helps avoid inbreeding, but they were unable to find another one and return.

Liberty

The lowest ranking female of the Graveyard Gang and mother of Hogarth. She mated with Blake, the dominant male after he chased away a nomadic male named Titus. With her family facing starvation, Crystal concentrating on feeding her immediate family during the dry season, and herself pregnant, Liberty leads her family to desert the Graveyard Gangs for a day. A few days later, Liberty gave birth to a daughter named Lily.

Episode listing

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