Wildlife
Contrasting coat colours make the red ruffed lemur one of the most beautiful lemurs. Rarely descending from the canopy of Madagascar's tropical rainforests, the females leave their litters in tree top nests or stashing locations where they're looked after by other members of the community. Sadly, the young are prone to falling out of these nests. Big groups of red ruffed lemurs come together in the wet season when fruit is plentiful, then break up as the season dries and food becomes scarce. They are large for lemurs and very vocal, barking in guttural yaps when their only natural predator, the fossa, comes too close.
Scientific name: Varecia rubra
Rank: Species
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Treetop babysitters
Family life is the key to success for Madagascars ruffed lemurs.
Family life is the key to success for Madagascars ruffed lemurs.
Looting lemurs
Red-ruffed lemurs sleep off a fruit feast while their stock is raided by brown lemurs.
Red-ruffed lemurs sleep off a fruit feast while their stock is raided by brown lemurs.
The Red ruffed lemur can be found in a number of locations including: Madagascar. Find out more about these places and what else lives there.
The following habitats are found across the Red ruffed lemur distribution range. Find out more about these environments, what it takes to live there and what else inhabits them.
RainforestDiscover what these behaviours are and how different plants and animals use them.
Additional data source: Animal Diversity Web
Endangered
Population trend: Decreasing
Year assessed: 2008
Classified by: IUCN 3.1
The red ruffed lemur (Varecia rubra) is one of two species in the genus Varecia, the ruffed lemurs; the other is the black-and-white ruffed lemur (Varecia variegata). Like all lemurs, it is native to Madagascar and occurs only in the rainforests of Masoala, in the northeast of the island. It is one of the largest primates of Madagascar with a body length of 53 cm, a tail length of 60 cm and a weight of 3.3–3.6 kg. Its soft, thick fur is red and black in colour and sports a buff or cream colored spot at the nape, but a few are known to have a white or pink patch on the back of the limbs or digits and a ring on the base of the tail in a similar color.
There is also another species of ruffed lemur that is similar to the red ruffed lemur; the black-and-white ruffed lemur. They both live in the rainforest along the east coast of Madagascar, but they do not associate with each other.
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Helpless young
Tree dweller
Adapted to climbing
Co-operative breeding
Tactile sense
Acoustic communication
Herbivorous
Maternal care
Polygynous
Social
Seed dispersal
Chemical communication
Territorial
Viviparous