Lemurs

Lemurs are prosimian primates that diverged from Anthropoids about 50 million years ago. These animals include lemurs (Madagascar), bushbabies (Africa), and lorises (Asia). They are considered to be more primitive than anthropoids.

Black and White ruffed lemurs are one of the few primates that may have litters of up to six offspring.

Ringtailed lemurs are the most common species found in zoos. They may spend up to 50% of their time on the ground, which is more than any other lemur species. They are extremely social and often use their tails for communication.

Prosimian primates differ from other primates because they have:

- Smaller brain relative to body size
- Less manual dexterity
- Rely more on sense of smell
- Have scent glands
- Eyes are more laterally oriented
- Nails are more like claws

Where they live

Lemurs are native only to the forests of Madagascar.

Most spend a large portion of their lives in trees. Lemurs may be diurnal (active in the day) or nocturnal (active at night). All lemurs are endangered species and are being pressured by land development, human poaching, and by natural predators (such as the Fossa).

This is a Fossa

This is a Bamboo lemur and, as its name suggests, it eats bamboo along with other additions to its diet.

This is a Coquerel's Sifaka. These animals are designed to live in trees most of their time. When they do come down, they hop on their hindlegs instead of using all four. The name 'Sifaka' comes from what their alarm call sounds like.

Lemur Anatomy and Diet

Lemurs do not have a prehensile tail and walk on all four legs. Sifakas are unuaual in that they walk on their hindlegs. Lemurs posses a 'toothcomb' which is used to groom their fur. Their natural diet includes lots of foraging items (leaves and fruit) and may also include insects. In captivity, lemurs are feed leaves, fruit, insects, and a monkey chow diet.

 

Social Behavior

Lemurs exhibit incredible social behavior. They usually will live in family groups of related females and offspring. Related mature males will usually be kicked out of the groups and may form their own bachelor groups. This is to prevent inbreeding in these social groups. Lemurs practice allogrooming and communicate readily with each other.

This is a female Blue-Eyed Black lemur. These lemurs are the only primates other than humans with truly blue eyes. The name comes from their sexual dichomatism in which the males are turn black and the females remain brown.

This is a mongoose lemureating a piece of fruit.

Lemurs in Captivity

Lemurs generally live longer in captivity (25-30 years) than in the wild (10-15 years) due to decreased pressures in their environment as long as they are provided with good husbandry. Some common problems associated with captive lemur health are things like: renal disease (due to increased life span), giardia, and pinworm. Fights within the social groups may occur and the death of a member may result. Some females are kept on birth control to keep the captive population down in that colony.

Lemur Enrichment

Lemurs, like other primates are intelligent and require lots of mental stimulation. Keepers in zoos often hide food in various places to force the lemurs to think through problems to find their treats. Captive lemurs should always be provided with enrichment within their environments otherwise they will become bored and destructive.

This is a dwarf mouse lemur.

Male red-bellied lemurs have a scent gland on their heads that produces a waxy substence and makes their hair look greasy.

Aye-Aye's are a nocturnal species and must be provided with things to chew on because of their continuously growing front teeth. Their middle finger is 6 inches long!! Even though they look kind of scary, they are believed to be a bad omen in Madagascar and are unfortunately killed because of that.

This is a red-ruffed lemur.

www.primates.com
Primate Gallery
Duke University Primate Center
Napier, J.R. and P.H. Napier. The Natural History of Primates. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1996.