Jasmine's Lemur  Page

Ring-tailed Lemurs

Lemurs are found only on Madagascar, a large island off the south-eastern coast of Africa.  They are Prosimians, a type of Primate, like the apes and the monkeys, and you and I.  But lemurs are only distantly related to humans.  It is thought that lemurs today more closely resemble primitive primates that lived millions of years ago, than modern-day monkeys.  Madagascar has been separated from the African land mass for so long, that lemurs only evolved on that island.  More than 50 species of lemurs once existed there.   About 2000 years ago the first human settlers arrived on the island.  In the mid-1600's the Europeans who wrote about Natural History reached Madagascar and found, from fossilised remains, that 15 species of lemur had become extinct.  These species were larger than any of the surviving species.  Of the lemurs that are alive today, the smallest species is the tiny pygmy mouse lemur, which weighs only 30 grams, and the largest species is the Diademed Sifaka, weighing up to about 7 kilograms.  Lemurs spend most of their time in trees, but the Ring-tailed species likes to be on the ground as well.  The small species tend to be nocturnal but the large species are also active during the day.  Lemurs eat leaves and fruit, and some nocturnal species also eat insects.  

The Duke University Primate Center extensively studies many species of lemurs.  The following are all links to their website.  On these pages you will find detailed information about each of the species, including pictures.  Take a look for yourself, and see how each of the species have evolved to how they are today.  Be sure to visit this links page often so you can get to know about each of the different types of lemur left today.   Some of these species are now endangered.  Maybe by learning more about these animals, we will be able to make a difference. 

Many zoos around the world also have lemurs in captivity.  The most common lemurs that zoos keep are the Ring-tailed Lemur and the Ruffed Lemur.  Next time you visit your local zoo, look out for them, they are so cute!

Becky's site, a study on the behaviour of Black-and-White Ruffed Lemurs in captivity.

Permission for use of images was kindly granted by Connie Bransilver. Please -click here- for Copyright information, if you want to use any of these images.

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