Red ruffed lemur

Varecia rubra

Irish Name: Léamar rua-rufach
IUCN Status: Critically Endangered

Red ruffed lemurs are a small primate and are one of the largest lemurs on the island of Madagascar. They are mostly dark red in colour, however their face, tail, and stomach are black and they have a white patch on the back of their necks. They also have a collar (a ruff) of fluffy fur around their neck.

Red ruffed lemur

Varecia rubra

Irish Name: Léamar rua-rufach
IUCN Status: Critically Endangered

Red ruffed lemurs are a small primate and are one of the largest lemurs on the island of Madagascar. They are mostly dark red in colour, however their face, tail, and stomach are black and they have a white patch on the back of their necks. They also have a collar (a ruff) of fluffy fur around their neck.

General Information

Where do they live? (Natural habitat)

Red ruffed lemurs, like all lemur species, are only found on the island of Madagascar. They can be found in Northeastern Madagascar in the forests of the Masoala Peninsula.

How long do they live?

Red ruffed lemurs live on average less than 20 years in the wild and approximately 20 or more years in zoos. The oldest ever recorded red-ruffed lemur was 36 years old in a zoo.

What do they eat?

Red ruffed lemurs are frugivores, meaning they mostly eat fruit. They also eat nectar, flowers and leaves.
They play an important role in regenerating their habitats in the wild as they disperse the seeds from the fruits they have eaten, helping to create more plants.

Group Name

Troop

Zoo Location

Between the Ring-tailed lemur habitat and the Orangutan Forest habitat.

Closest related species / sister species

Black and white ruffed lemurs are the closest related species to the red ruffed lemurs and the only other members of their genus.

Animal class

Mammalia

Animal order

Primates

Fun Facts

Litters of Lemurs

Red ruffed lemurs are one of the few lemurs that give birth to multiple young. They take care of their young as a group. Taking care of infants can take a lot of energy and sharing the responsibility is one of the ways these lemurs can help manage this.

Noisy neighbours

In Dublin Zoo the red ruffed lemurs are far more vocal than their ring-tailed lemur neighbours. Red ruffed lemurs use alarm calls to alert others that there is a predator nearby and gather a ‘mob’ or group to back each other up against the threat. This can deter predators like fossa who may give up on a hunt if surrounded by loud lemurs in the trees.
They can also use vocalisations to find mates and long, booming calls to communicate over large distances.

Pollinators

Red ruffed lemurs can lick the nectar from flowers and get pollen on their faces in the process. When lemurs stick their faces into the next flower to feed on, they pass on pollen from previous flowers they visited, helping plants make seeds to create more plants. This makes red ruffed lemurs important pollinators in their habitat, just like bees in Ireland.

Toothcomb

Red ruffed lemurs, like many other lemurs, use the teeth on their bottom jaw like a comb to clean both their fur and the fur of others in their troop. This is very important for keeping up friendships and family bonds.

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Family Life

Red ruffed lemurs live in large groups made up of smaller core groups. They give birth to a litter of infants in nests built above the ground for safety. The infants stay in nests while the mother looks for food nearby for short amounts of time. Other members of the mother’s core group guard the infants while the mother is foraging for food. Infants stay in nests for approximately 2 weeks; by 6 weeks of age, they can walk, climb and leap.

Baby name

Infant

Gestation (pregnancy) period

102 days approximately (3-3.5 months)

Number of young at birth

1-6 infants per litter (usually 2-3)

Weight at birth

100g on average

Age at maturity

2-3 years

Adult male name

Male

Adult female name

Female

Adult size

Adults are usually 110-120cm in length (head and body are 50-55cm, while the tail is 60-65cm).
Adults weigh 3.5kg on average.

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Conservation

Critically Endangered

Red ruffed lemurs are listed as Critically Endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

Current population estimate

Unknown

Threats

The main threats to red ruffed lemurs are habitat loss and hunting. Many of the forests they rely on for food and protection are being damaged and lost, bringing them closer to traps and snares which are used to catch them. They have also been impacted by an increase in the number and severity of cyclones, due to climate change and deforestation.

What is Dublin Zoo doing?

Dublin Zoo provides annual funding to a conservation project which is looking at reintroducing red ruffed lemurs in Northeastern Madagascar. The project is run by GERP (Groupe d’Etude et de Recherche sur les Primates de Madagascar).

Dublin Zoo also participates in a European breeding program for red ruffed lemurs.

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Red-Ruffed Lemurs Conservation

See what Dublin Zoo is doing to help red-ruffed lemurs in the wild
Find out more

FAQs

  • How many red ruffed lemurs are left in the wild?

    The population is in decline, but it is unknown exactly how many are in the wild.

  • What do red ruffed lemurs eat?

    Red ruffed lemurs are frugivores, meaning they mostly eat fruit. They also eat nectar, flowers and leaves. Having this diet makes them both important seed dispersers and pollinators in the wild.

  • Where do red ruffed lemurs live?

    Red ruffed lemurs, like all lemur species, are only found on the island of Madagascar. They can be found in Northeastern Madagascar in the forests of the Masoala Peninsula.

  • Why are red ruffed lemurs Critically Endangered?

    Red ruffed lemurs are Critically Endangered due to habitat loss, hunting and an increase in the number and severity of cyclones (due to deforestation and climate change).

  • Are red ruffed lemurs nocturnal?

    No, red ruffed lemurs are diurnal, meaning they are active during the day.

  • Can red ruffed lemurs swim?

    No, red ruffed lemurs cannot swim.

  • Do red ruffed lemurs have prehensile tails?

    No, red ruffed lemurs do not have prehensile tails. However, they do use their tails for balance when climbing or leaping in tall trees.

  • How do red ruffed lemurs communicate?

    Red ruffed lemurs are very vocal. They use alarm calls to alert others if there is a predator nearby and gather a ‘mob’ or group to back each other up against the threat.

    They can also use vocalisations to find mates and long, booming calls to communicate over large distances. Scent marking is also used to communicate or mark their territory.

  • What animals eat red ruffed lemurs?

    Fossae, hawks and large snakes.

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