Black and White Ruffed Lemur

 

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Black and White Ruffed Lemur Facts

The black and white ruffed lemur is native to the island nation of Madagascar. It is listed by the IUCN as Critically Endangered. The population of these lemurs are decreasing since they moved from ‘endangered’ status to ‘critically endangered’ status in 2008. It turns out, their are at least 103 different species of lemurs, of which, more are being discovered every year. The lemur populations in Madagascar are increasingly endangered because of habitat loss and the local population eating lemurs (known as bushmeat) due to poor economic conditions.

Lemurs are an important part of the natural environment in Madagascar. They feed on the various seasonal fruits in the rain forests which helps to spread undigested fruit seeds via their manure. Madagascar is plagued by resource depletion by over-logging and agriculture that is taking over the natural environment. The country is struggling to maintain what’s left of their biodiversity through national parks and eco-tourism.

Lemur Facts:

• Ruffed Lemurs use all of their arms and legs for walking/running and their tails help them keep balance while up in the trees.
• Lemurs have a very keen sense of smell. They use smell to communicate with other animals and they have special glands that leave behind scent trails for marking their territories.
• Mama lemurs are able to carry baby lemurs in their mouths until the baby lemur can hold on to their mothers fur.
• Lemurs are very social creatures (primates) and they like to hang out in groups of up to sixteen, but are typically in smaller groups of between 2 and 5 lemurs.
• Lemurs have fingers and toes that make it easy to grip branches for climbing and groom their fellow lemurs.

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