Frugal lemurs

I intern at a zoo.

Working at the zoo has it's ups and downs. It's definitely not an easy job. It's more of a if-i-have-to-move-one-more-inch-i-think-i-might-collapse-oh-yes-sure-i-can-go-rake-that-stretch-of-gravel kind of job. It has it's rewards, some of which are the few moments when i get to carry a bird on my arm, or stop weeding long enough to pet the deer. I also get to take home ridiculous stories of the ridiculous "general public".

One gem that i collected today happened outside of the Black and White Ruffed lemurs. We have a sign by them that says "The most frugivorous species of lemurs." Now i get "What does frugivorous mean?" a lot from guests, which is understandable. "Frugivorous" is not a particularly common word. However, I do expect most people to connect that it is describing an animal, and also sounds like other more common words like "herbivorous" or "carnivorous".

Apparently, my expectations are a little too high.

Today, I passed a group of people trying to decide what it meant:

"Frugivorous. Sounds kind of like 'frugal'. Maybe it means they're the most frugal lemurs."
Sounds of agreement.
"I wonder what that means, to be a frugal lemur..."

At this point I couldn't help stepping in and explaining that frugivorous means they eat mostly fruit. They accepted this definition and realized it made more sense than what they had been thinking. They probably felt a little silly too, because, really, what on earth would it mean to be a frugal lemur? And why would we feel the need to put that on a sign next to the habitat as though it's the one fact we want you to walk away with.

The intelligence, logic, and common sense of the general public continues to astound me...