HABITAT AND RANGE:
The Ring-Tailed Lemur is native to
southern and southwestern Madagascar.
Their range extents further into the
highland areas than other lemurs. They
strongly favor gallery forests (forests
along riverbanks), but due to
deforestation, many of such forests have
been cleared in their native land. They
also inhabit deciduous forests, dry
scrub and humid forests.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS:
An adult Ring-Tailed Lemur can reach a
body length of between 15 and 18 inches
and a weight between 5 and 7 ˝ pounds.
They have a slender frame and a narrow
face. Their hind limbs are longer than
their forelimbs, like all lemurs. Their
trademark is a long, bushy tail, ringed
in alternating black and white stripes,
numbering 13 to 15 stripes for each
color, with a black tip. The tail is
longer than the length of the rest of
its body, measuring up to 25 inches.
Their tail is used for balance,
communication and group cohesion. The
dense fur of the lemur is white or cream
on its chest, black on the back, its
crown is dark gray while the ears and
cheeks are white. The muzzle s grayish,
the nose black and the eyes are
surrounded by black patches. Black skin
is visible on the nose, genitalia and on
the palms and soles of the limbs. They
have dexterous, slender fingers that
have pads and human-like nails.
ADAPTATIONS:
These lemurs are social animals and the
females dominate the males in all
circumstances, including feeding
priority. Dominance is enforced by
lunging, chasing, cuffing, grabbing and
biting. Both sexes have separate
dominance hierarchies; females have a
distinct hierarchy while male rank is
correlated with age. Each troop has 1 to
3 high-ranking adult males who interact
with females more than other group males
and lead the troop procession with the
ranking females. For males, social
structure changes can be seasonal.
During the six month period between
December and May, a few males immigrate
between groups. Group fission can also
occur when groups get too large and
resources become scarce.
In the morning, Ring-Tailed Lemurs
sunbathe to warm themselves. It faces
the sun sitting in what is frequently
described as a “sun-worshipping” posture
or the Lotus position. However, it will
sit with its legs extended outward, not
cross-legged, and will often support
itself on nearby branches. Sunning is
often a group activity, especially on
cold mornings. At night, troops will
slit into sleeping parties and huddle
together closely to keep warm.
When threatened, the Ring-Tailed Lemur
may jump in the air and strike out with
its short nails and sharp upper canine
teeth, called jump fighting. This is
extremely rare behavior, except during
breeding season when tensions are high
and competition for mates is intense.
DIET: The
Ring-Tailed Lemur is an opportunistic
omnivore, but primarily eats fruits and
leaves, especially those of the tamarind
tree. When available, tamarind makes up
as much as 50% of the lemurs’ diet.
Their diet also includes flowers, herbs,
bark and sap. They have also been
observed eating decayed wood, earth,
spider webs, insect cocoons, arthropods
and small vertebrates.
REPRODUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT:
The Ring-Tailed Lemur is polygynous,
although the dominant male in the troop
typically breeds more females than the
other males. A receptive female may
initiate mating by presenting her
backside, lifting her tail and looking
at the male over her shoulder. Females
typically mate within their own troop,
but may seek outside males. The breeding
season lasts from mid-April to mid-May.
There is only a 4 to 6 hour period where
the female is fertile and the females
will mate with multiple males during
this period. Within a troop, females
stagger their receptivity so that each
female comes into season on a different
day during the breeding season, reducing
the competition for male attention.
Gestation lasts for about 135 days. One
baby is the norm in the wild, although
twins may occur. Baby lemurs only weigh
about 2.5 ounces and are carried on the
chest for the first week or two and then
on the mother’s back. Young lemurs begin
to eat solid food at two months and are
fully weaned after 5 months. Sexual
maturity is reached between 2 ˝ and 3
years. The entire troop cares for the
young, but male involvement is limited.
Ring-Tailed Lemurs live between 16 to 19
years in the wild and up to 27 years in
captivity.
STATUS IN WILD:
Due to deforestation, hunting and
predators, Ring-Tailed Lemurs are
endangered in the wild.
