The Ring Tailed Lemur
a report by Alison Heath
Table of Contents:
Introduction ……….....….page 3
Description ………………..page 3
Habitat …………………….. page 4
Food …………………….…....page 5
Life Cycle …………………....page 5
Interesting Facts ……......page 6
Conclusion …………….....page 6
Glossary …………………...page 7
pg. 2
Introduction
The world is filled with amazing creatures of almost every shape,
color, and size. With so many animals, it was hard to decide which one
to choose to learn more about. I wanted to pick something cute and
funny, with lots of cool creature powers. The ring tailed lemur
(scientific name Lemur Catta) is all of those things and more. As you
read my report you will learn many interesting facts about this curious
mammal and come to see why it is so important that we work together
to protect them for the future.
Description
The ring tailed lemur is a very distinctive animal. With a gray
furry body, about this size of a cat’s, and a long white and black ringed
tail, this animal is easy to recognize. Although it looks somewhat like an
over-grown squirrel, this mammal is part of the primate family, meaning
that it is related to monkeys. The lemur has large, round reflective
eyes that see well in the dark. On their head they have two pointy ears
that are very sensitive to sounds. Lemurs are surprisingly noisy animals
that make a loud wailing scream to alert each other of danger. Some of
their adaptations are that they have sharp claws to help them quickly
climb trees and escape from predators. Their long ringed tail is a
pg. 3
special adaptation too because it helps them balance when they walk
from branch to branch up in the trees.
Habitat
This is a map of the island of Madagascar, off of the east coast of
Africa.
There is only one place in the world where the ring tailed lemur
lives in the wild. The lemur is found on the island of Madagascar, off of
the east coast of Africa. On the island, the lemurs live both in the
tropical forest and in the dry grasslands. The lemurs that live in the
forests spend most of their time living in the trees. The lemurs that
live in the open, dry areas wander from area to area in their large
family groups.
pg. 4
Food
Finding food is an important part of the ring tailed lemur’s life.
Lemurs are omnivores, which means that they eat both plants and
animals. Mostly, lemurs eat things that they can find in trees, like
berries, nuts, insects, and spiders. Sometimes ring tailed lemurs leave
the trees and hunt for grubs and other yummy insects on the forest
floor. While they are looking for their food, lemurs have to be very
careful not to become dinner to a hungry fossa. Lemurs can quickly
climb trees and jump from branch to branch when they are trying to
get away from the hungry fossa.
Life Cycle
The life cycle of the ring tailed lemur is very interesting. Lemurs
are mammals, meaning that they are born from their moms and drink
her milk. Lemurs usually give birth to three babies at a time and the
babies cling to the mom for the first few days of their lives. After
just one week the babies start to eat solid food and they stop drinking
their mom’s milk all together by the time they are 6 weeks old.
Lemurs are social animals, meaning that they live in groups. There
are usually between 3 and 25 animals in a family group. This family
group lives, sleeps and eat together. They also groom each other and
pg. 5
work together to warn each other if there is a predator nearby. Ring
tailed lemurs can live to be 20 and 25 years old.
Interesting Facts
There are many interesting things that you should also know at
the ring tailed lemur. These animals are called “maki” by the people who
live in Madagascar. There are 4 main kinds of lemur and almost 100
subspecies have been found. The biggest problem that is facing lemurs
now is deforestation, the cutting down of the forests where they live.
Almost 90% of the forests in Madagascar have already been cut down,
so the number of lemurs has gotten much smaller.
Another really cool thing you should know about lemurs is that
they live in a matriarchal group, which means that they female lemurs
are in charge of the whole group. This is not very common in the animal
kingdom.
Conclusion
Clearly, ring tailed lemurs are fascinating animals. Not only are
these animals are fun to watch as they leap from tree to tree, they
also have many unique features that make them interesting to learn
about. I hope that the people of Madagascar can work together to
protect this cool creature so that there will always be ring tailed
lemurs for the world to enjoy.
pg. 6
Glossary
Adaptations
Special features an animal has that help it survive in
its habitat.
Deforestation
The cutting down of forests.
Fossa
A fossa is a cat like animal that lives in Madagascar
and eats lemurs.
Mammal
An animal that is born from its mother, drinks her
milk, has warm blood, and fur.
Omnivores
An animal that eats both plants and animals.
Primate
The family of animals that monkeys and apes belong to.
pg. 7