Lemurs

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Lemurs!

General: There are 5 families of lemurs and 99 total species. They are mammals of the order of primates. They range from 1oz. to 22 lbs. Larger species that weighed up to 240 lbs have been extinct ever since humans settled on Madagascar. Lemurs are known to be lively creature. :D

Where: They mostly live on the island of Madagascar. They say that since Madagascar is said that it broke apart from Africa, the monkeys and apes were left behind and so the lemurs had no competitions.

Physical Description:

Most lemurs have pointy noses which explains their excellent sense of smell. Each species of lemurs look distinctively different from each other. Their color varies from reddish brow to a light gray. They come in many different sizes too. The pygmy mouse lemur, the smallest species, weighs only 1 ounce. Some of the biggest lemurs can weigh up to 15 pounds.

Communication:

Lemurs use their sense of smell to communicate with each other. Lemurs have glands on their feet and bottoms that leave odors that tell other lemurs that they have been their. Lemurs also have long bushy tails that is another form of communicating. Their tails also are used for balancing on trees.

Habits:

Most lemurs are arboreal which means they spend most of their time swinging from tree to tree. They have good grip for hanging onto trees. Daytime lemurs live in groups. Nocturnal lemurs tend to live alone.

Habitat:

All species of lemurs either live in Madagascar or the Camores Islands. They usually spend their lives in trees in exception with ringtail-lemurs. In these areas, lemurs live from tropical rainforests to dry deserts.

Reproduction and live span:

When baby lemurs are born, they stay in their mother's mouth until old enough to hang onto their mother's fur. The average life span is about 18 years.

Diet:

Lemurs have a vegetarian diet with mostly leaves and fruit, although they may eat insects and small animals.

Status:

There are 50 types of lemurs. 10 of them are critically endangered, 7 are endangered, and 19 are vulnerable.

Endangerment:

Lemurs are threatened because of the people cutting their habitat down. In fact, 80% of the lemurs' habitats have been cut down. However, all lemurs are safe from being captured or traded unless its a zoo. Although hunting is not a problem, deforestation or the cutting down of trees, is a problem.

Interesting facts!

Lemurs spread their arms out to the sun to soak in sunlight. They could stay in this position for hours!
In a group of lemurs, females always win.
High "ranking" lemurs raise their tails and heads up high.
Ring-tail lemurs spend more time on the ground than all other lemurs.
Lemurs are primates and are related to monkeys and apes.
Some lemurs are endangered because of habitat destruction.
One of the lemur's main predator is the catlike fossa, one of the largest carnivores on Madagascar.
Lemurs only live on Madagascar, neighboring islands, and Africa.
Lemurs help new plants grow by dispersing the seeds after they are digested.
Lemurs use their specialized teeth to groom themselves.
Lemur's hind legs are longer than their front legs..