Ring-Tailed Lemur - Lemur catta

Habitat:
Dry woodland areas
Range:
Only found in Madagascar
Activity Cycle:
Diurnal
Features:
Ring-tailed lemur's coat is black gray, the limbs and belly lighter, and the extremities white. There are rings about the eyes, the muzzle is black, and the tail is banded black and white
Size:
Males weigh between 6-7 pounds with females being smaller.
Social Structure:
Living in groups of 5-50 with the females being dominant. This allows the females to have the choice of food and who to mate with.
Life Expectancy:
20-25 years in captivity
Diet:
Their diet consist of mainly leaves, fruits, and berries, but occasionally they will take bird eggs, small mammals, and insects
Reproduction:
After a gestation period of about 135 days, a single offspring is born. Occasionally they may have twins or even triplets. The young are grayish with a thin coat of hair. The entire group helps care for, and play with the young. Young lemurs first begin to climb at about three weeks, and are usually independent by six months. They are sexually mature and fully grown at 11/2 years.
Status:
Endangered according to the USFWS and Near Threatened with IUCN due to land development, and destruction of their habitat. They are listed under Appendix I of CITES and are part of a Species Survival Plan.
Interesting Facts:
  • RT Lemurs are one of 22 species of lemur in the entire world
  • They have binocular forward vision, but must turn their head to see in front of them because their eyes have limited movement in the socket.
  • RT Lemurs do most of their traveling on the ground unlike most other lemurs who are arboreal
  • They communicate with short grunting sounds as a contact call among the troops, and sometime followed with a quick bark
  • The word lemur comes from old Latin and refers to ghosts or spirits
  • The tail is used as a visual signal. When faced with an aggressive encounter, they will wave their scent covered tail in the direction of a rival.
 
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AZA cooperatively manages this species as a Species Survival Plan® Program.
Video:

Peoria Zoo