Order: Primates;
Suborder: Prosimii

Family: Lemuridae;
Genus: Lemur

Species: catta

Related Species

Ring-tailed lemurs are currently classified in their own genus, but there is considerable debate about their relatedness to the members of the genera Eulemur and Hapalemur.

Key Facts

Adult Size : 4.9 – 6 pounds

Social life : Sociable, group sizes of 3 – 25 animals, with females dominant to males.   There are often multiple breeding females in one group.

Habitat : deciduous thicket and thornscrub

Diet : Fruit, leaves, flowers, herbs, and other plant parts, occasional insect and small vertebrate prey

Lifespan : 20 – 25 years

Sexual maturity : 3 years in the wild, as early as 18 months in captivity

Mating : Extremely seasonal, mid-April – June

Gestation : 134 – 138 days

Number of young : One per year, but twins are fairly common when food is plentiful

DLC Naming theme : Greek names (Cassandra, Photius, Ninna, etc.)

Malagasy names : Maki, Hira

Interesting Facts

• Ring-tailed lemurs are one of the most vocal primates. They have several different alarm calls with distinct meanings to alert members of their group to potential danger.
• When ring-tailed troops travel throughout their home range, they keep their tails raised in the air, like flags, to keep group members together.
• Ring-tailed lemurs can spend up to 50% of their day on the ground.
• Ring-tailed lemurs have scent glands on their wrists and chests that they use to mark their foraging routes. Males even have a horny spur on each wrist gland that they use to pierce tree branches before scent marking them.