Freezing lemur found on London's Tooting Common Published duration 9 December 2011

image caption Lemur 'King Julien' was found on Tooting Common in south-west London on Tuesday night

A ring-tailed lemur, native to the east African island of Madagascar, was found collapsed in sub-zero conditions on a south-west London common.

The primate, who has been named King Julien after the character in the animated film Madagascar, was found on Tooting Common on Tuesday night.

The animal has been treated for shock and hypothermia at an animal hospital and is making a good recovery.

It is not known how it came to be on the common.

The lemur was also suffering from severe dehydration when it was taken to the Blue Cross animal hospital in Victoria, central London.

'Cold and scared'

It was put on a drip and put in the hospital's isolation unit for close monitoring.

Mark Bossley, Blue Cross chief vet at the hospital, said: "We were very concerned about King Julien's health as he was very cold, scared and didn't want to eat.

"But our nurses managed to coax him into taking some drops of honey from a syringe, then he gradually started eating bits of banana and grapes."

The lemur is now on the road to recovery and will be transferred to the Specialist Wildlife Services voluntary organisation, which will try to rehome it.

The animal charity said there was no way of knowing where the lemur had come from.

Mr Bossley added: "This has got to be the most unusual animal we've ever taken in.

"How a ring-tailed lemur turned up in Tooting Common, I'll never know."