Bamboo Lemur
Overview
Hapalemur griseus has no less than three widely used common names: the eastern lesser bamboo lemur, the gray gentle lemur, and the gray bamboo lemur. To avoid confusion, any discussion of bamboo lemurs, eastern lesser bamboo lemurs or gray gentle lemurs on this website, unless otherwise specified, refers to the variety of bamboo lemur housed...
Feeding
Only in the winter, when shoots are scarce, will the bamboo lemur eat a significant amount of mature bamboo leaves. At certain times of the year, bamboo accounts for 90% of their diet. At other times of the year berries, grass stems and other young leaves supplement this lemur’s diet. In captivity, the bamboo lemur...
Reproduction
Bamboo lemur females come into estrus once a year, typical for a diurnal lemur. Single infants, and very rarely twins, are born after a gestation of some 140 days, longer than average for a lemur. Infant care is highly unusual in this species. Rather than carry the infant, as is typical of most lemur mothers,...
Social Behavior
In the wild, the gray gentle lemur lives in groups ranging from three to six, and which in some instances might contain more than one female of breeding age. Home range size ranges from 8 ha to 15 ha depending on the quality of the habitat. As is true of most lemur species, females are...
Habitat/Conservation
The eastern lesser bamboo lemur is relatively abundant in the wild. Certain species of bamboo thrive as secondary growth, in areas where virgin rainforest has been cut down. In other words, as virgin rainforest in Madagascar falls to the axe, the bamboo lemur might benefit! In fact, this type of bamboo lemur is one of...
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