Lemur Facts!
The Lemurs are found only in Madagascar and Comoro Island. They are rather odd animals because of their large, reflective eyes, long tails, and hands that are almost like a human’s plus they also have long, pointy noses that provide them with a great sense of smell. Most lemurs are arboreal (tree dwelling), but some are terrestrial (ground dwelling) like the ring-tailed lemur.
Lemurs are primates
Based on the remnants of fossils millions of years old, it shows that they were once as large as an adult gorilla. It is assumed, that their reduction in size is an adaptation to their arboreal lifestyles and also to depend on less food for survival. There are nearly 100 lemur species, all in various sizes and colors. Lemur species include some of the smallest primates in the world as well as some of the largest. The smallest lemur is the pygmy mouse lemur.
Unusual Primates
All these species, except for one, have long tails which aids them to maintain their balance; they do not hang from them as other primates do. Also unlike other primates, the lemurs do not walk upright instead they walk on all fours, but they do sit and stand. The leader of lemur societies is a female. Among primates, the only type to hibernate is the lemur.
Lemur Communication
To communicate the lemurs screech, but other than that they use scent marking with their urine or scent glands to leave their scent. Communication with scent is important at night. Also lemurs engage in “stink fights”, where they rub their long tails in the scent glands and wave it at their opponent.
Lemurs are featured in the following book:
25 Cutest Animals in the World!
The YouTube video playlist below contains videos about Lemurs. Details of the videos featured are underneath.
The Playlist:
- Dancing Lemurs, Madagascar by intrepberkexplorer
- Lemurs of Madagascar HD by Fred Heiman
- Exploring the ‘Island of Lemurs: Madagascar’ by ABC News
- How smart is a Lemur? by CNN
- Cute Baby Twin Ring Tailed Lemurs – Madagascar w/ David Attenborough – BBC by BBC Earth
- Raising Cute Baby Lemurs to Save a Species by National Geographic
- When Lemurs Attack by Darnell Carter
