Body cam shows Springfield police capture loose lemur
By: Officers rescued a lemur from a Springfield neighborhood. Wait what?
The incident unfolded on a quiet Tuesday night around 10 p.m. Officers responded to Kimbrough and Woodland following a report of a lemur in the road. After a short pursuit, the officers captured the creature. They snuggled it up in a towel.
“I first came across the road and hopped on our mirror,” Becky Sellers, a Springfield resident who made the call to 911, says. “Then it came into the car.”
Yes, you read that correctly, a lemur. Not the typical sighting one would expect while driving through Springfield.
“It just kind of went back and forth across the road between our car and another car,” Sellers described.
Despite the unusual situation, Sellers quickly noticed that the lemur seemed friendly and, more importantly, domesticated. She recognized it as someone’s pet. The call was certainly unexpected for the Springfield Police Department as well.
“This will be the first lemur that we have apprehended,” Cris Swaters, a spokesperson for the Springfield Police Department, says.
It took a collaborative effort from officers and citizens, but within about 10 minutes, the lemur was safely in custody.
“We had the lemur in custody about 10:23,” Swaters confirmed.
The Springfield Greene County Health Department reported that the lemur was unharmed and was soon reunited with its owner. The owner, demonstrating cooperation with the authorities, handed over the lemur when they learned that it was against city ordinances to keep an exotic or wildlife animal as a pet. City ordinance 18-13 prohibits exotic animals or wildlife within the city limits of Springfield, a regulation that is also upheld by state statute.
Now, the lemur finds itself in a safe place while the health department explores options for its future: a potential new home, possibly a zoo, or even a sanctuary. For those who were fortunate enough to be part of this unique lemur encounter, it’s a story that won’t be forgotten anytime soon.
“While we can’t promise unusual interactions with animals every day... we can promise that police officers get to do something different every single day,” Swaters says.