Micke Grove Zoo

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Red Ruffed Lemur
Varecia rubra

  • Habitat: Tropical moist lowland forests
  • Range: Masaola Peninsula of Madagascar's Northeast coast
  • Natural Diet: Fruit, flowers, nectar, leaves, and buds
  • Status in the Wild: THREATENED

Their exhibit in the zoo includes several aerial pathways

Fun Facts

  • Red ruffed lemurs have black tails and their bodies are reddish-brown in color
  • They are excellent pollinators
  • Females are in charge of their social groups
  • They are one of the largest living species of lemurs
  • They use their tails to balance when they climb
  • Their body color helps camouflage and hide them from their predators

Red ruffed lemurs are endemic to Madagascar and are found in tropical

 moist lowland forests in the northeast portion on the Masoala Peninsula

 

Conservation Threats

The major threats are:

  •  Habitat loss due to encroachment by humans and logging practices.
  • Illegal hunting and trapping also has a detrimental influence on wild numbers

 

Red Ruffed Lemur

 These lemurs have a black tail and their bodies are reddish-brown. Their colors help them camouflage from predators in their native habitat

 

When they bask in the sun, they usually stretch and lay on their backs with their bellies facing the sun

 

They are highly arboreal and spend a considerable proportion of their time in trees

 

 

Map Distributional range
(All species of lemurs are endemic to Madagascar, the island in black to the right of Africa )