Ring-tailed lemur
Order Primates, Family Lemuridae.
A cat-sized animal with a fairly agile, sleek body and pointed snout. The soft, relatively long coat is grey with reddish colouring uppermost, very pale on the underside and clearly marked with black and white rings on its long tail. There are glands (which secrete a strong scent) on the forearms. The length of the head and body of a mature adult is around 40-45cm (16"-17") while the tail adds a further 50cm (20"). A typical LEMUR CATTA weighs 2.5-3.5Kg (5-8lb).
Southern and south-western Madagascar.
Rocky mountains with sparse vegetation.
LEMUR CATTA feeds on wild fruit, leaves and flowers. It holds fruit in its front feet and bites into it in such a way that the juice falls directly into its mouth.
The ring-tail lemur lives in large groups with roughly equal numbers of each sex. One of the larger lemurs they are mainly active by day, principally on the ground, unlike most other lemur species that dwell in trees. In cold weather the animals huddle in groups to generate warmth; conversely in warm weather they "sunbathe" in treetops. A lemur will spend a great deal of time preening and cleaning its coat, using its lower incisors and claws to "comb" its fur.
The group territory is delimited by using scent markings from the glands found on the forearms and anal regions of the animal. During the mating season, the normally social males become aggressive, sounding "spat call"s and fighting. The so-called "stink fights" (involving forearms and tails) get their name from the liberal use of the scent glands by competing males.
The female ring-tail lemur usually gives birth to a single young, in March-April, after a gestation period of 120-136 days. The young are suckled for about six months.
LEMUR CATTA pictures courtesy of Duke University Primate Center