Micke Grove Zoo

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Ring-tailed Lemur
Lemur catta

  • Habitat: Brush and scrub forests
  • Range: South and south-western Madagascar
  • Natural Diet: Fruit, flowers, nectar, leaves, and buds
  • Status in the Wild: THREATENED

Their ringed tails longer than their bodies

Fun facts

  • Ring-tailed lemurs are only found on the island of Madagascar
  • They are the only species of lemur to have scent glands on their wrists. The glands are used to mark their territory and in "stink fights" in which opponents rub their tails on the glands and wave the scented tail .
  • Ring tailed lemurs as their name indicates, have ringed tails longer than their bodies
  • Madagascar natives once believed that these lemurs worshipped the sun because they can be seen sunbathing on a branch or log with their arms wide apart.
  • Females are in charge of their family troops

Ring-tailed lemurs display allogrooming by grooming each other

Conservation Threats

The Major threats are:

  • Habitat loss as a negative influence on the depleting numbers in the wild.
  • They are heavily hunted and trapped by the Malagasy people as a food source

Ring-tailed lemurs are endemic to Madagascar and are found in the south in dry deciduous forests and spiny bush habitats

(Photo Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons)

 Lemurs are popularly known to rest on the ground in what looks like a meditative position.

Lemurs are trained using positive reinforcement techniques.

 

They receive food enrichment in the form of popsicles from Animal Care staff to motivate them to display foraging and exploratory behavior

 

Similar to all other lemurs, humans, and apes, ring-tailed lemurs have opposable thumbs that they use to hold onto branches

 

Map Distributional range
(All species of lemurs are endemic to Madagascar, the island in black to the right of Africa )