Ring-tailed lemur

About This Project

Ring-tailed lemurs belong to a group of primates found in Madagascar. Besides the characteristic pose they adopt when “sun-worshipping”, they are known for their long, ringed tails which help them to balance as they leap through the trees with great agility. This is the only lemur species to live partly on the ground, the others mainly stay in the trees. An interesting fact, they live in large groups, with the females in charge! At birth, the single baby lemur climbs onto its mother’s back and clings onto her fur.
Like all lemurs, they are threatened by the destruction of forests, hunting and animal trafficking.

The zoo has a whole group of ring-tailed lemurs, and frequent births. They share a vast tree-filled enclosure with the black and white ruffed lemurs.

Latin name: Lemur catta
Class: Mammalia
Order: Primates
Family: Lemuridae
Size: 39 to 46 cm, tail 56 to 62 cm
Weight: 2.5 to 3.5 kg
Lifespan: 25 to 30 years
Gestation: 136 days
Number of young: 1 to 2
Habitat: tropical forest
Diet: herbivorous – frugivorous
Distribution: south and south-west Madagascar
Conservation status: endangered

Category
Mammalia