Feeding
Pair of red ruffed lemurs feed on sourwood flowers in the forest. Click image for larger version.
Red ruffed lemurs are diurnal, with peak activity occurring in the early morning and in the evening. Their diet consists mostly of fruit, nectar and pollen--they are considered the most frugivorous of all the lemurs. Small amounts of leaves and seeds are also consumed, primarily during the dry season when fruit and nectar is scarce or nonexistent. When appropriate flowers are available, the lemurs eagerly feed on nectar by sticking their long noses deep into the flower. During this feeding, the flowers are not harmed, but the lemur's snouts become coated with pollen, which is then transported to other flowers. Thus, for certain species of plants in the tropical forests of Madagascar, the ruffed lemur is an important pollinator. Unfortunately, many of the larger fruit trees essential for the survival of the ruffed lemur are also regarded as the most desirable hardwoods by logging interests, and are often the first to be cut down when a forest is selectively cut. Thus, the presence of healthy populations of ruffed lemurs is considered an important indicator of the health of a tropical forest.
In the wild ruffed lemurs seldom descend to the ground, preferring instead to spend their time in the top layers of the canopy. Their movement through the trees is often spectacular. The animals will hurl themselves, often without hesitation, from one tree to another, landing at a lower level of a neighboring tree in a spectacular crash of vegetation. During feeding, the ruffed lemurs will dangle from the delicate terminal branches of a tree, with only their feet grasping the most slender of branches, in order to grab a hard-to-reach food item, or to engage in play wrestling or mutual grooming with another animal.