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San Joaquin County Parks & Recreation

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Black-and-White Ruffed Lemur
(Varecia variegate variegate)

Black and White Ruffed LemurHabitat: coastal rainforest
Range: Eastern Madagascar
Natural Diet: fruit, leaves, flowers, seeds, nectar

Status In The Wild:  
Critically endangered

Atlas

Fun Animal Facts

As with most lemurs, females are generally dominant; they get the best choices of food, defend groups and choose their mate. Ruffed lemurs live in family groups and are the only lemurs to build nests. Mothers will leave their young in the nest while they forage for food. The lemur's thick bushy tail serves as a visual signal when it is threatened, or as a balancing tool when it leaps through the trees. Their loud alarm call includes barking that sound like dog fighting. Lemurs like to hang upside down by their feet to feed.