A red ruffed lemur perches in its habitat at the Central Coast Zoo during the grand opening of the zoo's new Madagascar exhibit on Thursday, May 15, 2026. The new exhibit includes red ruffed lemurs, ring-tailed lemurs, Madagascar teal, tortoises and more.
Joan Lynch
jlynch@thetribunenews.com
San Luis Obispo County’s top zoo introduced two new fuzzy guests and their new accommodations to the public on Thursday.
On Thursday, members of the Atascadero City Council, Central Coast Zoo leaders and other public officials cut the ribbon on the zoo’s new Madagascar habitat.
Following a 16-month renovation that saw multiple habitats and enclosures near the zoo’s entrance remodeled, two critically endangered red ruffed lemurs named Lysae and Borealis — named for the northern lights — and their new habitat made their public debuts.
A red ruffed lemur lounges on its back in its habitat at the Central Coast Zoo during the grand opening of the zoo's new Madagascar exhibit on Thursday, May 15, 2026. The new exhibit includes red ruffed lemurs, ring-tailed lemurs, Madagascar teal, tortoises and more. Joan Lynch jlynch@thetribunenews.com
Lysae and Borealis came to the zoo from two separate zoos and were introduced to their new habitat over the past few weeks.
“This facility was built in the late ‘80s by Cal Poly, and it was really getting to the end of its lifespan,” zoo director Cynthia Stringfield said. “We needed to make a decision about whether we were going to keep it and renovate it, or if it was even possible.”
A red ruffed lemur climbs the bars of its enclosure at the Central Coast Zoo during the grand opening of the zoo's new Madagascar exhibit on Thursday, May 15, 2026. The new exhibit includes red ruffed lemurs, ring-tailed lemurs, Madagascar teal, tortoises and more. Joan Lynch jlynch@thetribunenews.com
The new lemur exhibit features a higher canopy, allowing its inhabitants to better stretch their legs and tails, along with new landscaping and vegetation similar to what you might find in Madagascar, but with enough cold tolerance to withstand the winter, Stringfield said.
Next door, an enclosure that previously held an alligator with a shallow pond was replaced with new landscaping to give the zoo’s radiated tortoises a new home, Stringfield said.
The new lemur exhibit at the Central Coast Zoo officially opened on Thursday, May 15, 2026. The new exhibit includes red ruffed lemurs, ring-tailed lemurs, Madagascar teal, tortoises and more. Joan Lynch jlynch@thetribunenews.com
Across the exhibit, guests can find ring-tailed lemurs, red ruffed lemurs, radiated tortoises and tenrecs, small hedgehog-like creatures that are related to elephants, manatees and aardvarks.
Coming in at $170,000, the project was backed by the Central Coast Zoo Foundation, the Ludwick Family Foundation and donations made in the name of Bradyn Bronkowski, a zoo volunteer who died in 2020. Bronkowski was honored with a plaque dedicating the exhibit to her memory.
“This whole area is reflective of Madagascar now, with the all the landscaping and the theming and the animals,” Stringfield said. “My hope is that when people look at all of this, they really feel like, ‘Oh gosh, I really feel like I was in Madagascar.”
A Madagascar tenrec hides under a log in its habitat at the Central Coast Zoo during the grand opening of the zoo's new Madagascar exhibit on Thursday, May 15, 2026. The new exhibit includes red ruffed lemurs, ring-tailed lemurs, Madagascar teal, tortoises and more. Joan Lynch jlynch@thetribunenews.com
Central Coast Zoo director Cynthia Stringfield speaks during the grand open of the zoo's new Madagascar exhibit on Thursday, May 15, 2026. The new exhibit includes red ruffed lemurs, ring-tailed lemurs, Madagascar teal, tortoises and more. Joan Lynch jlynch@thetribunenews.com
A red ruffed lemur perches in its habitat at the Central Coast Zoo during the grand open of the zoo's new Madagascar exhibit on Thursday, May 15, 2026. The new exhibit includes red ruffed lemurs, ring-tailed lemurs, Madagascar teal, tortoises and more. Joan Lynch jlynch@thetribunenews.com
A red ruffed lemur eats a snack in its habitat at the Central Coast Zoo during the grand open of the zoo's new Madagascar exhibit on Thursday, May 15, 2026. The new exhibit includes red ruffed lemurs, ring-tailed lemurs, Madagascar teal, tortoises and more. Joan Lynch jlynch@thetribunenews.com
A plaque dedicating the Central Coast Zoo's new lemur habitat to late zoo volunteer Bradyn Bronkowski was unveiled on Thursday, May 15, 2026. The new exhibit includes red ruffed lemurs, ring-tailed lemurs, Madagascar teal, tortoises and more. Joan Lynch jlynch@thetribunenews.com
Joan Lynch is a housing reporter at the San Luis Obispo Tribune. Originally from Kenosha, Wisconsin, Joan studied journalism and telecommunications at Ball State University, graduating in 2022.
