The Madagascar name is Varika. It lives in southeastern Madagascar from the Mananara River near Vangaindrano, south to Fort Dauphine.
Ring-tailed lemurs are active at night and lead a very social lifestyle.
They are found in groups of 20 to 30 individuals.
There is a strict hierarchy within the groups; the leaders are mainly females.
They have preferential rights in choosing food and a partner.
Lemurs are dying due to deforestation or burning of forests, mining, and agricultural development.
In addition, over the past ten years, the hunting of lemurs has intensified: animals are sold as exotic pets or to Madagascar restaurants.
However, the analysis shows that most species of Madagascar lemurs will still have enough forests to survive in more than 25 years.
True lemurs are almost exclusively herbivores: they feed on flowers, fruits, and leaves, but in captivity there are known examples of feeding on insects. The gestation period is 125 days.
We previously talked about how insects are important to the ecosystem.