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© Sedgwick County Zoo, credit: John Streeter

Black Lemur

Lemur macao

Physical Characteristics

  • These primates have long, soft fur with a pronounced ruff or mane around the head and ears. The males are usually black and the females brown.
  • Size of average adult
    • length: 2 - 2.5 feet
  • Approximate life span is 18 years in captivity.

Diet

  • Wild: flowers, fruit, leaves, insect, birds and eggs

Behavior

  • Arboreal (tree dwelling)
  • Diurnal (active in the day)
  • Found in groups of 4-15, led by a female, with some exchange of adults between troops
  • Territorial
  • Reproduction
    • sexual maturity: 18 months
    • breeding season: April to June
    • gestation: 127 days
    • matings and births may be synchronized in one area to occur within a period of a few days
    • litter size: usually one, sometimes twins
    • weaned at 135 days

Environmental/Global

  • Habitat: forest
  • Distribution: Madagascar
  • Status: Endangered, CITES Appendix I
    • habitat destruction: industrial activity, logging, agriculture
    • hunting and trapping as a result of alleged raids on crops

Exhibited in: Boat Ride Islands
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