Ring Tail Lemur

Order: Primates

Suborder: Prosimii

Family: Lemuridae

Genus: Lemur

Species: catta

Ring-tailed lemurs are found in south and southwestern Madagascar, from Fort-Dauphin west and as far north as Morandava on the west coast. A small additional population lives near the mountains of Andringitra on the southeastern plateau

Ring-tailed lemurs are found in social groups of 3 - 25 individuals. Females remain in the group to which they were born for their entire lives, while males may change groups when they reach sexual maturity. Females are usually dominant to a male, which gives them preferential access to food.

They eat Fruit, leaves, flowers, herbs, and other plant parts, occasional insect and small vertebrate prey and live about 20 - 25 years.

Interesting Facts:

- Prosimians groom in a rather unique way, all prosimians have 6 lower teeth that stick straight out from their jaw, forming a comb that the animals use to groom their fur and the fur of other members of their social group.

-Ring-tailed lemurs can spend up to 40% of their day on the ground.

-Ring-tailed lemurs are one of the most vocal primates. They have several different alarm calls to alert members of their group to potential danger