Details
Lemur catta
A Madagascar lemur instantly known for its long tail banded in alternating black-and-white rings. Highly terrestrial and social, it moves about by day in cohesive troops and is an icon of the island.
Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)
Endemic to southern and southwestern Madagascar, it occupies a wide range of habitats from gallery and dry deciduous forests to scrub and even montane forest. It tolerates extreme temperature swings in the arid south.
Head and body measure 39-46 cm, with a weight of about 2.2-3.5 kg. The coat is gray to rosy-brown above and pale below, with black triangular patches around the eyes. Its hallmark is the long, bushy tail ringed in some 13 alternating black-and-white bands.
Diurnal and social, it lives in troops averaging around a dozen or more animals. Females dominate the group, and members often sunbathe with arms spread toward the morning sun. Males settle disputes with "stink fights," anointing their tails with scent and wafting it at rivals.
An omnivore, it eats fruit, leaves, flowers, herbs, bark, and insects. Tamarind is a mainstay, sometimes making up nearly half the diet during the dry season.
Breeding runs from mid-April to mid-May, with gestation lasting about 135 days. A single infant (occasionally twins) is born around September or October, weighing roughly 70 g, and is weaned after about five months.
Madagascar's national animal and a familiar figure in tourism and research, it has nonetheless declined sharply in the wild from habitat loss, hunting, and the pet trade, with most of the island's original forest already gone.
