Ring-tailed lemur Lemur catta
Famous resident of Madagascar.
All about the ring-tailed lemur and life in Madagascar.
About the ring-tailed lemur
- eats
- fruit, flowers, leaves, sometimes small animals
- origin
- Madagascar
- known for
- sunbathing
The ring-tailed lemur lives in the southern part of Madagascar. Unlike many other lemurs, it spends a lot of time on the ground, but it can also climb trees very well. In the early morning, ring-tailed lemurs are often seen sunbathing to warm up.
Scent communication
Ring-tailed lemurs communicate a lot through scent. They have scent glands on their wrists and lower back. Males also have scent glands under their armpits. Females leave scent trails to attract males. When a male finds such a trail, he often adds his own scent. This helps him hide the female's location from other males that might also want to mate.
Prosimian
The ring-tailed lemur, like the red ruffed lemur, is a prosimian. Prosimians are not monkeys, but they do belong to the same order: primates. They form their own suborder. Prosimians have lost the evolutionary competition with other primates, which is why you rarely see them together. Only prosimians live on Madagascar, so they don’t have to compete with monkeys there.
You can recognize prosimians by their wet nose, similar to that of cats or dogs. Their brains are smaller than those of monkeys, but they have a highly developed sense of smell and excellent night vision.
Life on Madagascar
Although lemurs are an iconic symbol of Madagascar, the population of ring-tailed lemurs is declining rapidly. The biggest threat is the loss and fragmentation of their habitat. Madagascar has around 30 million people. Many live below the poverty line and rely on their own crops for food. To grow these crops, large areas of forest are burned down.
Well-groomed fur
Ring-tailed lemurs groom their fur in a special way. They use their lower teeth, which tilt forward. Like a built-in comb, they skillfully run these teeth through their fur to clean it. They also groom each other’s fur, which helps keep the group socially connected.