Ring-tailed Lemur
Lemur catta

Easily identified by their long, black and white ringed tails, these primitive primates are gray and white in color, with yellow eyes and circular black eye patches. Unlike other lemurs, ring-tails spend nearly half their time on the ground sunning, playing, and foraging. When moving, these social lemurs carry their bushy tails straight up in the air.

What They Eat
Seasonal fruits (especially figs) are favorite foods of ring-tailed lemurs. These opportunistic foragers also munch on leaves, flowers, bark, sap, and sometimes invertebrates.

Where They Live
Although they are skilled climbers, ring-tailed lemurs spend more time on the ground than most other lemurs. They live mainly in dry, spiny forests and lush forests along rivers in southern Madagascar.

What They Do
These lemurs are very social and live in groups of up to 25 animals. Males rub scent from their wrist glands onto their tails, then wave their tails at each other. The winners of these “stink fights” get to breed with the females.

How They’re Doing
Ring-tailed lemurs are currently listed as "Near Threatened." They do occupy all five of the protected areas in their range, as well as two private reserves. But because they live only in a small portion of an island nation, the continued loss of habitat squeezes their population tighter every year.

Ring-tailed Lemur

Grooming is an important part of group bonding, and lemurs have built-in grooming tools. The “tooth comb” is made up of the lower six teeth, and the “toilet claw” is an enlarged nail on the second toe.

While most primates’ noses are flat and dry, lemurs have long, wet noses similar to dogs. They can smell a favorite fruit from 1000 ft. away!

Ring-tailed lemurs aren’t born with those beautiful golden eyes. Young lemurs have blue eyes at birth that gradually change color as they grow.

Things you can do

Don't buy wood products from the rainforest unless you know they come from eco-friendly suppliers.                   
Consumer’s Guide to Buying Wood

Rainforests are often cleared to make room for raising beef.  Once processed, the beef is shipped to stores and restaurants overseas. Shopping for meat produced locally reduces the demand for beef grown on rainforest land.

Support a cause or conservation group that actively works to protect the rainforest.

Your visit to the Zoo helps support our conservation programs. You can also sponsor an animal at the Zoo.

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Ring-tailed Lemur

Ring-tailed lemurs are threatened by habitat loss due to farming and harvesting wood for fuel. These lemurs are sometimes also hunted for food or kept as pets.

Things the Zoo's Done/Doing

Captive populations of this species are managed for breeding purposes under a Species Survival Plan (SSP), which, through the coordinated efforts of North American zoos, helps maintain a healthy gene pool for future populations. The Minnesota Zoo currently participates in 23 SSP programs, including the Ring-tailed Lemur SSP.