
Black and White Ruffed Lemur Natural History
Size
Adult black and white ruffed lemurs can reach up to 55cm in body length and an additional 66cm of tail! Adults can also weigh between 3 and 4.5kg.
Habitat and Distribution
Black and white ruffed lemurs are only found in eastern Madagascar in lowland to mid-altitude rainforests.
Age
In the wild, the average lifespan of black and white ruffed lemurs is 19 years old. However, they can live longer in captivity.
Diet
This specific lemur species is almost exclusively frugivorous, meaning that they eat fruit.
Groups and Breeding
This species is thought to be one of the only primates to build nests to give birth to their young and also use the nest to look after them in the first few days after they’re born. Black and white ruffed lemurs are likely to reproduce when the conditions are favourable, e.g. good availability to food. As they only reproduce with the right environmental conditions, females can go years between giving birth. This slows the population growth of the species. Usually females give birth to twins or triplets after a 90 to 120 gestation period.
Threats
They are classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. As with all lemur species, they are endemic to Madagascar and their primary threat is habitat loss. This is due to agriculture, mining and logging.
Interesting Facts
Similar to other lemur species, they can produce a range of vocalisations to communicate with one another. However, when alarmed black and white ruffed lemurs can produce a deep barking call. When defending their territory, they produce a wailing howl.
The Black and White Ruffed Lemurs During Your Day Out in Kent
The black and white ruffed lemurs girls can be found opposite our tigers and penguin pool, next to our capybaras on our lake. They are called Remi, Rhona and Dubh.