The movie Madagascar is a big hit with kids and the perfect opportunity to educate children about conservation and the animal kingdom. The Little Rock Zoo has a few visitors from Madagascar that you can introduce your children to.

The most interesting animals from Madagascar at the Little Rock Zoo are the three species of lemur on Lemur Island. Lemur Island is right next to the zoo's entrance. Lemur Island has ring-tailed lemurs, black and white lemurs and black lemurs.

If your kids watch the Kratt brothers they will also know Zoboomafoo the lemur. Lemurs are found only on Madagascar and the Comoro Islands. There are 50 different kinds and 17 of those endangered because of habitat destruction.

Lemur Island isn't the only place you'll find lemurs at the zoo. You can also find them in nocturnal animal area of the reptile house. The fat-tailed dwarf lemur is also from Madagascar and he is one of the smallest lemurs on the island. They come out at night to forage for food. They have fat tails because they store fat in their tails for a hibernation-like state. The zoo?s fat-tailed dwarf lemur is sometimes hard to see in the exhibit because it?s dark, but he?s worth the wait.

Also in the reptile/nocturnal area is another cool animal from Madagascar. Giant Day Geckos inhabit the east coast of Madagascar and the reptile house of the Little Rock Zoo. These guys have sticky feet so they can stick on anything. You'll often find them clinging to the walls of their exhibit.

The Madagascar animal that strikes the most fear in visitors to the zoo are the giant Madagascar hissing cockroaches. These guys aren't actually that bad. They don't invade homes in Madagascar or cause disease. They live in the woods and are decomposers. They really do hiss. The cockroaches live in the education department so if you see a zoo docent, you can ask about them.

The movie has several other animal stars. The animals in the movie live in the Central Park Zoo and dream of adventure. That's how they end up in Madagascar. Some of the characters have "cousins" at the Little Rock Zoo. Melman the hypochondriac giraffe has the counterparts of Barney and Jigsaw, the two giraffes at the zoo. The zoo doesn't have a male lion like Alex, but you can see the two resident lionesses, Sydney and Nyla. The zoo also has several zebras. Who knows, they may be dreaming of brighter pastures like Marty.

Enjoy your trip to Madagascar.