Ring Tailed Lemurs

If you were to check in one morning on a group of ring-tailed lemurs, you'd likely see them sitting on the ground, facing the sun with their arms outspread. Sun worshipping? Sort of. Ring-tailed lemurs often spend hours in this position, soaking up the warmth of the sun. And they do it in a group, since they're social animals. In a troop, or group, of ring-tailed lemurs, which typically numbers between 15 and 20 individuals, females rule. If a squabble breaks out between a male and a female, the female lemur always wins the argument.

Lemur troops establish territories, which they defend against other troops. When territorial fights between groups occur, the females are on the front lines. They threaten the females in the opposing
group by leaping and darting toward them. The female lemurs mark trees with their scent-warning intruders "this territory's taken." The male lemurs tend to hang back until the battle's over.

Male ring-tailed lemurs come and go from one troop to another, while females stay with the one in which they were born. The core of a troop of ring-tailed lemurs consists mainly of the females and their young. As the troop moves from feeding site to feeding site, the core group settles into the best feeding spot (generally a good tree) and eats first.

The males wait for them to finish or feed in a less desired tree nearby. The same goes for often hard-to-find water which collects in tree hollows. Some female lemurs are dominant over the other females. Likewise, a hierarchy exists among the males in a troop. They fight each other to establish rank.

Higher-ranking males strut around with their heads and tails held high, while the lower-ranked lemurs keep their tails and heads down. Status among the males, especially when mating season arrives, can change. Any male may challenge any other and end up as the new "top lemur."

FAST FACTS
The scientific name for the ring-tailed lemur is Lemur catta.

Ring-tailed lemurs spend more time on the ground (and less in the trees) than any other species of lemur.Lemurs are primates and are related to monkeys and apes.

Lemurs are endangered, mainly due to habitat destruction caused by people who clear land for farming and logging.

One of the lemur's main predators is the catlike fossa, the largest carnivore in Madagascar.

Lemurs live in the wild only on the African island of Madagascar and a few neighboring islands.

Lemurs help new plants grow by dispersing seeds that pass through their digestive systems after they eat.

Lemurs use their specialized, comblike front teeth for grooming themselves and Ring-tailed lemurs' hind legs are longer than their front legs, so when they walk on the ground on all fours, their hind ends stick up in the air!

Lemurs use scent from glands on their wrists and bottoms to mark their territory.