Endangered Species Report: Lemur (Lemuroidea)
by Amy Keyes

Goodman’s Mouse Lemur-

bbsnews.net/.../ goodmans-mouse-lemur.jpg

General Information:

The species that I chose to do my report about is the Lemur. The scientific name of the lemur is the Lemuroidea. Lemurs live in Madagascar. They do not hibernate and they live above ground. Most lemurs live in trees but the ring-tailed lemur spends most of its time on the ground.(Lemurs) Lemurs live mainly in the rain forests in Madagascar. When lemurs eat seeds and then produce waste, the seeds get spread out so new trees can grow in the rainforest and maybe save a few lemurs.

Lemurs as Pets?

Many people want a lemur. Who wouldn’t? They’re cute, cuddly, and some are small. But lemurs would NOT make a good pet. First, they are endangered; you would have “a lot of responsibility if you could even find one” (Lemur FAQ). Second, you would have to deal with the lemur “scent marking its territory” (Lemur FAQ) and I don’t think that you would want to have that smell around your house all the time. The scent is also hard to get rid of. It is IMPOSSIBLE to house train a lemur. You would have to clean up its urine and feces all the time! If you really want a lemur, you can adopt one for $50- $500 a year and that money would help take care of a lemur.(Lemur FAQ)

Physical Description:

Lemurs are animals. “They can grow to be from the size of a squirrel to the size of a cat” (Lemur) They can weigh up to 11lbs. Their soft, fluffy fur can be grayish brown, black and white, black and red, gray, white face, eye rings, and a black wet nose. “Lemurs tails are extremely long and work as a trapeze”. (A Visual Introduction to Monkeys and Apes) They have opposable thumbs on both hands and the soles of their feet are covered with tough pads that prevent them from slipping while climbing or jumping from tree to tree. (A Visual Introduction to Monkeys and Apes) When lemurs are on the ground, they walk on all fours.

Other:

Many people have studied lemurs in the wild. Lemurs can live up to 18 years in the wild and up to 14 years in captivity.(Lemur) Lemurs have large eyes and very good vision. “They do not blink their eyes because they have no eyelids. Instead of eyelids, lemurs have a clear covering over their eyes to keep them moist.”(LEMURS) Diurnal lemurs travel in groups but the nocturnal lemurs travel alone. “In this species, the female is dominant”. (Lemur Basics)

Breeding Habits:

“Lemurs start to mate when they are about 2 to 3 years old” (Lemur)! When a female lemur has a baby, it has a single one at a time and “has a gestation period of four to five months” (Lemur). The baby “lemur then gets carried around in the mothers mouth until it is old enough to ride on the mothers back” (A Visual Introduction to Monkeys and Apes). The breeding season for lemurs is from October through January. “After a baby lemur is born, the female lemur watches over it for about six months before the lemur goes off on its own. Females can only mate ONE day a year”. (Lemur)

Feeding Behavior:

Lemurs prey only on small vertebrates because they are mostly vegetarians but many things prey on it. Some of the species that prey on it are the buzzards, eagles, kites, snakes, mongooses, and fossa. Since lemurs are mostly vegetarians, “their favorite foods are sugarcane and grasses”. (Lemur) They also like to eat small vertebrates, insects, flowers, leaves, and bird eggs. When lemurs get thirsty, they often drink water from streams or rivers. “Sometimes, lemurs lick the dew off of leaves”. (Lemurs)

Conservation Efforts:

The main reason why lemurs are endangered is deforestation. The secondary reason is hunting. Lemurs went on the list of endangered animals on June 2, 1920. In Madagascar, it is now against the law to cut down trees or build in preserves. Also, “scientists are breeding lemurs in zoos and then releasing them into the wild once they are old enough to survive on their own.” (Lemurs) There are about 37 species of lemurs left in the wild today. About 2,000 years ago, there were about 50 species. There are not many lemurs in captivity. To protect lemurs, people have made preserves. People need to stop cutting down the trees that the lemurs live in. Out of the original habitat, only about 20% is left. (Lemurs)

Summary:

Lemurs are cute animals and that is why I chose to do my report on them. Something that I found out about lemurs in my research is that they travel in social groups of “2 lemurs to 30 lemurs” (Lemur) that can be different ages, sexes, and sizes. “When jumping from tree to tree, their bodies are in an upright position” (A Visual Introduction to Monkeys and Apes). An interesting fact that I found while researching was that the scientific name ““Lemuroidea” means “ghosts””. (Lemurs)

Sources:

1 .Lemur, Encyclopedia of Animals

2. Anonymous “Lemurs” November 16, 2005 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemur

3. Christopher Butz, Lemurs (Austin *New York: Raintree Steck-Vaughn Publishers 2002)

4. Lorien Kite, LEMURS (Danbury, Connecticut: Brown Partworks Ltd. 1999)

5. Bernard Stonehouse, A Visual Introduction to Monkeys and Apes ( New York: Cartographic Publishers Ltd. 2000)

6. Anonymous “Lemurs” 2000 http://www.thewildones.org/Animals/lemur.html

7. Anonymous “Lemur Basics” http://www.lemurs.us/basics.html

8. Anonymous “Lemur FAQ” http://www.lemurs.us/faq.html