RING-TAILED LEMUR
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Lemur catta
HOUSE NAMES: females, "Bree" "Keely" "Teagan", and "Delaney"
HABITAT: Island of Madagascar, specifically south and southwestern Madagascar
CONSERVATION STATUS: Endangered
CONSERVATION RESOURCES:
Madagascar Fauna & Flora Group
FUN FACT:
Ring-tailed lemurs live in groups of 3-27 individuals, called troops, that have about the same number of males and females. They have a matriarchal social system, where the females are always dominant. The males of a troop do have their own social hierarchy separate from the females
FUN FACT:
The Ring-tailed Lemur is named for the 13 alternating black and white bands that span their tail. Their body is covered in thick fur of a solid color, ranging from grey to brown. Their belly and face are white, and they have black triangular patches around their eyes and a black nose. This primate weighs between 4.8 and 6 pounds and can grow to a length of 3.5 feet from its head to the end of its tail. The tail alone can make up 2 feet of this total length and is used for balance when jumping between branches of trees. They are the most terrestrial of any lemur species, spending about 40 percent of their time on the forest floor. When on the ground, they move quadrupedally and hold their long, striped tails straight in the air with the tip curved down, making the shape of a question mark.