ENDANGERED
RING-TAILED LEMUR
LEMUR CATTA
Ring-tailed lemurs are native to Madagascar, known for their distinctive black and white ringed tails, These social animals live in groups called troops and are highly active during the day. With a diet primarily consisting of fruits, leaves, and flowers, ring-tailed lemurs play a crucial role in their ecosystem.
The troop of Ring-tailed lemurs who call Fife Zoo home are part of the European Ex Situ Programme (EEP).
HABITAT
Ring-tailed lemurs are endemic to the southern regions of Madagascar.
They thrive in diverse, often dry, habitats including spiny forests, dry deciduous forests, scrublands, and rocky canyons.
While they are highly adapted for life in trees, they are the most terrestrial of all lemur species, spending up to 33% of their time on the ground
DIET
Ring-tailed lemurs are omnivores. Their diet consists mainly of leaves, flowers, fruits & tree bark, with the occasional insect.
The tamarind tree is a primary food source, with its fruit and leaves making up roughly 50% of their diet during the dry season.
BEHAVIOUR
Ring-tailed lemurs are social animals, living in female-dominated groups of 3 to 20 individuals. Females are highly attentive to their young, often forming groups where infants can play. They also switch babies and nurse the infants of other females.
Scent glands on the males' wrists mark their territory and are also used to have stink fights when competing for females.
Ring-tailed lemurs love to sunbathe. They sit with their bellies toward the sun and their arms and legs stretched out to the sides to maximize the exposure of their less densely covered bellies to the sun, warming them up before they forage.
THREATS
Lemurs are the most endangered mammal group in the world.
Ring-tailed lemurs are Endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.
Habitat loss due to logging, agriculture and fire is one of the biggest threats to lemur numbers as well the pet trade.
It is estimated that as few as 2,000 ring-tailed lemurs remain in the wild.