Lemurs are also hunted for food and for the pet trade. They are endangered due to habitat fragmentation and destruction due to logging and forest fires. The population of ring-tailed lemurs is estimated to have decreased by more than 50 percent during the last 40 years. Their moist noses enhance the aromas of ripe fruit or predators such as the fossa, a carnivore closely related to the mongoose. Lemurs have a better sense of smell than other primates. While foraging, tails are held in the air as a “follow me” flag. Lemurs’ long tails are not prehensile and are used primarily for balance as the lemurs walk or leap among tree branches in search of food. It is accompanied by fierce stares and threatening calls. Females are fertile for only a few days a year, so males compete for mating rites through “stink fights.” They load their tails with a strong-smelling substance secreted by scent glands,, then shake them vigorously at rivals to ensure the odor disperses. Hierarchy is established through play when young. These are the most terrestrial of the prosimian species, spending much of their time on the ground. Highly gregarious, they live in troops and spend time together grooming, sunbathing, and foraging. With their distinctive long, black-and-white banded tails, this is perhaps the most iconic lemur species. It is thought lemurs arrived in Madagascar by floating over from Africa on rafts of vegetation 40–80 million years ago. This isolation has reduced competition and limited predators, allowing more than 100 species of lemurs to thrive. Lifespan in the wild is unknown, but in human care, they can live 27–30 years.Lemurs are found only on the island of Madagascar, which separated from mainland Africa about 160 million years ago.
This lemur’s body length may grow up to 18 inches, but the tail alone may measure up to 25 inches. Fruit comprises 60 to 90 percent of their diet, but they will also eat flowers, insects (including cicadas), and fungi. Habitatīlue-eyed black lemurs live in fragmented tropical forests on the northwestern tip of Madagascar. Male infants will turn black at around four to eight weeks of age. Infants are born reddish tan to match their mother. The species is named for the males who have black fur, while females are a reddish-tan color.
Males and females have different colored fur, a trait called sexual dichromatism. Blue eyes are rare in the wild as they offer less sun protection than eyes with darker irises. Other than humans, blue-eyed black lemurs are the only primate to have blue eyes. A specialized “toilet claw” on their second toe is used for personal grooming. Lemurs greet one another by grooming each other’s fur using protruding bottom teeth like a comb. Led by the most dominant female of the group, they move through the trees with agility and can leap distances up to 25 feet. Blue-eyed black lemurs are arboreal and spend most of their day in the trees, foraging and napping. These lemurs rely more on their sense of smell than vision, using a long muzzle, wet nose, and whiskers (called vibrissae) to track family members, identify threats, and determine which trees have fruit. Native to Madagascar, there may be fewer than 1,000 individuals remaining in the wild.
The blue-eyed black lemur is one of the most endangered primates in the world.
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