The red ruffed lemur (scientific name: Varecia rubra) is a large species of lemur found exclusively in the rainforests of Madagascar, where many people are looking red ruffed lemur for sale for use as pets. Vegetarian, it feeds on various plants. Very vocal, this order of primates communicates between groups with powerful calls, like sonorous barks. Red ruffed lemurs reinforce their communication and territorial marking by depositing scented hormones. Red ruffed lemurs give birth to their young, often 2, in the natural refuge of a tree fern. They are the only primates not to carry their young at birth.
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Overview of red ruffed lemur in 1 min
description of red ruffed lemur
- Scientific name: Varecia rubra
- Conservation status: Critically Endangered
- Mass: 8.5 lbs
- Location: Madagascar
- Class: Mammalian
- Family: Lemuria
- Genus: Varecia
The red ruffed lemur is a large, stocky lemur with a long, thick, bushy tail, fairly large legs with prehensile hands and an elongated snout.
Its large, round eyes are yellow, and its minimal, rounded ears are hidden in hair. Its long tongue is pink. Females are slightly larger than males.
Its thick coat is made up of light-brown russet hairs, black on the tail, belly, face and hindquarters. Bare areas (muzzle, hands) are also black. Its head (except for the forehead) is surrounded by long hair.
Size of red ruffed lemur
The ruffed lemur is Madagascar’s largest four-legged lemur. Their bodies are around 20 inches (50cm) long and their tails are just a little longer 23 inches (59cm), allowing them to keep their balance as they move through the tropical forest.
Weight of red ruffed lemur
The red ruffed lemur weighs between 3.3 and 3.6 kilograms (around 8 pounds) as an adult. Body mass varies according to sex, with males weighing slightly more than females, except when pregnant.
Lifespan of red ruffed lemur
The life span of the red ruffed lemur is :
In the wild: 15–20 years.
In captivity: up to 25–30 years.
Red ruffed lemur Diet and nutrition
the ruffed lemur is vegetarian, mainly frugivorous. It feeds primarily on fruit, especially figs. It supplements its diet with young shoots, bark, pollen, nectar and seeds.
As consumers of fruit, they have an important role in the dispersal of seeds in the rainforest of Madagascar: they can engulf large seeds and pass them through their bowels undigested, then expel them onto the forest floor in their own packets of fertilizer (feces).
When flowers are present, the lemurs will eagerly consume nectar by nosing into the flower with their long noses. During this procedure, the flowers are not damaged, but the lemur’s snouts are coated with pollen, which is then transferred to other flowers. As a result, for some tropical plants in the forests of Madagascar, the ruffled lemur is of great importance as a pollinator.
Regrettably, many large fruit trees vital to the ruffed lemur’s survival are also viewed as the hardwoods most sought after by loggers, and are usually the first to be felled when a forest is subject to selective logging. The presence of ruffed lemur population is seen as an excellent indicator of the forest’s tropical health.
Behavior and communication of red ruffed lemur
The red ruffed lemur is a diurnal crepuscular animal, mainly active in the mornings and evenings. It spends its active hours feeding, grooming and interacting with other animals. Arboreal, they live almost exclusively in trees.
Behavior
The red ruffed lemur is a sociable animal, generally living in matriarchal groups of 2 to 16 individuals, whose size varies according to season and food abundance. Life in couples or family groups is regularly observed in the dry season. To interact with each other, they use various vocalizations and mutual grooming.
Red ruffed lemurs have a social life system that varies with the season and the quality of their habitat. In some parts of Madagascar, the primates are found in small groups of two to six individuals, with a typical home range of around 60 acres (25 ha). Other areas have smaller clusters of 18 to 32 animals that occupy home ranges of around 60 hectares.
All members of the group utilize a common territory, and there are sometimes instances where the groups engage in aggressive behavior towards each other at the boundary of their territories. A strong association exists between the home range’s location and the larger fruit trees in the area. Females are the chief movers in group behavior, and they are always in charge of males. Ruffed lemurs congregate in larger numbers during the wet season, when food is plentiful, they also disperse during the dry season, searching for uncommon fruits.
When hunting for fruit, large clusters can be completely split apart as individuals pursue their own path, in stark contrast to other diurnal lemurs, which always hunt and move through the forest on their own as individualized clusters.
Communication
Red-crested lemurs warn members of their group of the threat of a predator with a number of loud alarm calls, which vary according to the predator’s position. Lemurs can also identify the alarm calls of other lemur species, such as the black and white ruffed lemur.
Red ruffed lemur Habitat and environment
Red ruffed lemurs live in the forests of the Masoala peninsula near Maroantsetra, in northeast Madagascar. They live in groups, the size of which depends on the habitat and available food sources. During the dry season, when resources are scarce, large groups break up into smaller ones, which reunite in the wet season. This is known as a “fission-fusion” dynamic.
Red ruffed lemur Reproduction and breeding
- Weaning: The little red ruffed lemur is weaned at around 4 months. Before that, he lived in a tree, protected by his mother and father.
- Sexual maturity: The red ruffed lemur is sexually mature at around 2 years of age, but starts reproducing at 3.
- Breeding period: The red ruffed lemur mating season runs from May to July.
- Farrowing area: The female gives birth and raises her young in a nest of leaves and twigs in the canopy, 10–20 meters up.
- Number of babies per litter: The female red ruffed lemur gives birth to 1 to 6 young (2-3 on average).
- Gestation: Approximately 102 days.
Lifestyle in the wild
Red ruffed lemurs are the only primates known to build nests for their newborns. Some red ruffed lemur nests are communal, with females synchronizing births to share parental care. After a few weeks, the mothers take the young with them on their travels, carrying them in their mouths, but very often leaving them alone on a safe branch as they go searching for food. The young become totally independent quickly, from four months of age.
Conservation Status
The red ruffed lemur is classified as “critically endangered” by the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), and has been on the list of the world’s 25 most endangered primates since 2012.
Its population is estimated to have declined by around 80% within 24 years. The main threat to this species is the loss of its habitat. It is facing intense deforestation for the exotic timber and fuel wood trade, as a result of mining, but also due to a traditional agricultural practice: slash-and-burn farming. This technique involves burning forest plots to clear existing vegetation and make way for arable land made fertile by the ash. But this fertility is limited in time and lasts only a few years.
When the land runs out, the Madagascans burn a new patch of forest. Habitat loss is compounded by the threat of poaching, facilitated by the species’ large size and noisy, easily spotted nature. Local populations eat its meat, but also capture babies to sell them illegally as pets.
Its population is estimated to have declined by around 80% within 24 years. The main threat to this species is the loss of its habitat. It is facing intense deforestation for the exotic timber and fuel wood trade, as a result of mining, but also due to a traditional agricultural practice: slash-and-burn farming. This technique involves burning forest plots to clear existing vegetation and make way for arable land made fertile by the ash. But this fertility is limited in time and lasts only a few years.
When the land runs out, the Madagascans burn a new patch of forest. Habitat loss is compounded by the threat of poaching, facilitated by the species’ large size and noisy, easily spotted nature. Local populations eat its meat, but also capture babies to sell them illegally as pets.
Threats to Survival
Like all lemurs, the red-collared lemur lives in the wild in Madagascar, and is a species in serious danger of extinction.
The red ruffed lemur suffers from severe habitat degradation due to the disappearance of the forest in favor of slash-and-burn cultivation, the exploitation of wood and precious stones, and hunting for its meat.
Conservation Efforts
Supported by the Biopark since 1999, the NGO Antongil Conservation works in collaboration with villagers to protect the forest and its rare, endemic fauna in the long term.
The Role of Zoos and Sanctuaries
The contribution of zoos and wildlife sanctuaries to the conservation and study of red ruffed lemurs, including breeding programs and educational outreach.
How many red ruffed lemurs are left in the world?
The Woodland Park Zoo estimates the total population of red ruffed lemurs in the wild at around 1,000 to 10,000 individuals.
Are red ruffed lemurs aggressive?
Red ruffed lemurs have no predatory impulses to attack a human being who is not a threat to them. That said, their teeth are quite sharp and if they feel threatened, they may bite or scratch you.
Is a red ruffed lemur a monkey?
Externally, red ruffed lemurs are like monkeys, with opposable thumbs on both pairs of limbs, the front pair generally being the least developed. Nails are almost always flat, except the hind index finger, which is always claw-shaped.
What do red ruffed lemurs do to survive?
To survive, red ruffed lemurs live in a group and help each other raise all the young in the family. During the day, they search for flowers and fruit to eat and move around their environment together.
References and Further Reading
- AZA Species Survival Statistics: 2023. Lincoln Park Zoo/AZA Population Management Center. Offers data on the survival statistics of various species, including red ruffed lemurs.
- Rare Red Ruffed Lemur Born at San Diego Zoo: A 2016 story from the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance that highlights the birth of a rare red ruffed lemur, offering insights into the breeding and care of these primates in captivity.
- San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Library: Offers an Animal Fact Sheet Index, including detailed information on the red-ruffed lemur, and serves as a valuable resource for conservation, fact sheets, and information about lemurs and other animals.
