Red Ruffed Lemur
The red-ruffed lemur is an eye-catching reddish to chestnut colour with a thick, silky coat, black face and black limbs and tail. Their small ears are hidden by a ruff of hair around the neck and head, with a patch of white fur at the nape of the neck. They often also have white patches on their feet and around the mouth. They live in trees, but can also walk and run well on the ground. In forests they leap from branch to branch and tree to tree using their agile limbs and long tails. They have long snouts and tongues which they use to reach inside flower heads for the nectar. They communicate through grunts, growls and barking sounds which they use to warn of danger and intruders.
What they eat
Fruits, nectar, seeds, leaves, foliage.
How long they live
15-20 years.
Biology
These lemurs live together in groups of two to five animals, with several groups sometimes congregating to form a larger community of about 30. Unusually for primates, females are dominant over the male members of a group, and females form strong bonds with each other as well as actively defending the territory of each group.
They groom each other with their teeth and not their fingers, which are not as flexible as those of many other primates. The six bottom teeth are specially adapted for grooming, forming what is commonly called a ‘toothcomb’. They also have a claw on the second toe of their back feet which they use to brush their fur.
The breeding season is from spring to mid-summer, with young born in the autumn. Females give birth in nests hidden up to 20 metres off the ground in high trees. As a result many youngsters die early from falling to the ground. Usually two offspring are born, which become independent after about four months.
Did you know?
Red-ruffed Lemurs are most active in the day time, though on rare occasions they have been seen to move about at night and the literal translation of the name ‘lemur’ means ‘night wandering ghost’.
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