Ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta)
Ring-tailed lemurs are the most easily recognisable of all the lemur species, they're the only ones to have a long, bushy and black-and-white striped tail. Spending more time in open spaces than the other lemurs of Madagascar, ring-tailed lemurs are also very sociable and groups will soak up the early morning sun together, sitting cross-legged in a yoga position. Females share the parental duties in crèches.
What do they sound like?
Watch video clips from past programmes (2 clips)
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Smelly lemurs
Life
Male lemurs waft their way to victory.
Ring-tailed lemurs are a smelly bunch. Females release a scent that lets the males know that she is coming on heat... and that they have just one day to do the deed. Leaping into action, the males cover their tails in their own special scent and start to strut their stuff.
Ultimate dilemma
Natural World
A ring-tailed lemur makes the hardest decision for a mother.
A ring-tailed lemur makes the hardest decision for a mother.
Featured in the following TV programmes
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Coming soon
Natural World: 2009-2010, Bringing Up Baby
Natural World investigates the vital bond between animal mothers and their babies.
Sun 14, 17:10 on BBC Two
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Archived
Life: Primates
The nature documentary series examines primates.
Earth News
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Zoo celebrates rare lemur birth
Bristol Zoo have been celebrating the birth of an endangered ring-tailed lemur which they have named "Warbie".
About the Ring-tailed lemur
The Ring-tailed Lemur (Lemur catta) is a large Strepsirhine primate and the most recognized lemur due to its long, black and white ringed tail. It belongs to Lemuridae, one of four lemur families. It is the only member of the Lemur genus. Like all lemurs it is endemic to the island of Madagascar. Known locally as Hira (Malagasy), Maky (Malagasy), or Maki (French), it inhabits gallery forests to spiny scrub in the southern regions of the island. It is omnivorous and the most terrestrial of lemurs. The animal is diurnal, being active exclusively in daylight hours.
The Ring-tailed Lemur is highly social, living in groups of up to 30 individuals. It is also female dominant, a trait common among lemurs. To keep warm and reaffirm social bonds, groups will huddle together forming a lemur ball. The Ring-tailed Lemur will also sunbathe, sitting upright facing its underside, with its thinner white fur towards the sun. Like other lemurs, this species relies strongly on its sense of smell and marks its territory with scent glands. The males perform a unique scent marking behavior called spur marking and will participate in stink fights by impregnating their tail with their scent and wafting it at opponents.
As one of the most vocal primates, the Ring-tailed Lemur utilizes numerous vocalizations including group cohesion and alarm calls. Despite the lack of a large brain (relative to Simiiform primates) experiments have shown that the Ring-tailed Lemur can organize sequences, understand basic arithmetic operations and preferentially select tools based on functional qualities.
Despite being listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN Red List and suffering from habitat destruction, the Ring-tailed Lemur reproduces readily in captivity and is the most populous lemur in zoos worldwide, numbering more than 2000 individuals. It typically lives 16 to 19 years in the wild and 27 years in captivity.
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Featured in...
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The wildlife of Life
In autumn 2009, a major new series brought us life as we've never seen it before.
The Ring-tailed lemur is
Adaptation data provided by Animal Diversity Web
Where can I see them?
They can be found in the following habitats:
Conservation Status
The Ring-tailed lemur is Near Threatened (IUCN 3.1)
- EX - Extinct
- EW
- CR - Threatened
- EN - Threatened
- VU - Threatened
- NT
- LC - Least concern
Population trend: Decreasing
Year assessed: 2008
Elsewhere on the web
- Animal Diversity Web (animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu)
- Ring-tailed lemurs fact file (nationalzoo.si.edu)
- Ring-tailed lemur fact sheet (pin.primate.wisc.edu)
- ARKive: Images of Life on Earth (arkive.org)
- Profile of the ring-tailed lemur (bristolzoo.org.uk)
- Fast and fun facts (seaworld.org)
- Ring-tailed Lemur (wikipedia.org)
Site links
BBC links
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