Ring-tailed Lemur of Madagascar

Have you heard about the sun worshipper mammal? If you see them early in the morning you will find their flock on the ground in a circle, taking sunbathes with their arms spread! Sometimes they’ll maintain this position for hours!

Ring tailed Lemurs taking Sunbathe ( Image : Rob on flickr )

They are referred to as as Lemur catta (The Ring-tailed Lemurs) which are endemic of Madagascar. Nearly all species of Lemur are discovered in Madagascar and Comoros islands. The Ring-Tailed Lemur is quite social animals who generally reside in groups of up to 30 people.

The coat of the Ring-Tailed Lemur is dark gray and the limb and belly region is of light gray colour with white extremities. The eyes of the Ring-Tailed Lemur have darker rings about the eyes with black muzzle. And clearly the most splendid function of the body of the Ring-Tailed Lemur is their black & white banded tail. Normally this tail is lengthier than their body which also functions for maintaining balance, communication, and group cohesion. In harmful scenarios, the Ring-tail lemurs wave their scent-covered tail in the path of a rival.

A beautiful shot of the Ring-tailed Lemur by Gwndorlin (flickr)

The vocalization of the Ring-tailed lemur includes purr and mew like house cats. The Ring-tailed Lemur also communicates with brief grunting sounds as a make contact with contact within the troop, often followed with a fast bark. The diet of the Ring-tailed Lemur involves mainly of leaves, fruits, and berries. But sometimes they are also observed even though consuming of bird eggs, tiny mammals, and insects. Madagascar has vast zones of land which are completely barren so the Ring-tailed Lemur quenches its thirst with juicy fruits.

An aggressive Ring tailed Lemurs (By floridapfe)

Female Ring-tailed Lemur has two pairs of nipples, but only a single pair is functional.The gestation period in the Ring-tailed Lemur is of about 135 days right after which the female gives birth to a single offspring. Occasionally they might have twins or even triplets. The young are grayish with a thin coat of hair.

Today the conservation status of the Ring-tailed Lemur of Madagascar is listed as Close to Threatened by the Globe Conservation Union. The largest threat to their population is the fast destruction of their all-natural habitat.