Animals On Earth: India, Asia, China, Hawaii, And Madagascar

Black And White Ruffed Lemur

Critically endangered black-and-white ruffed lemurs are native only to Madagascar, where they live in trees and are most active during the day.

Lemurs use their cries to keep the group together, mark their territory and warn each other if predators are nearby.

As with most lemur species, black and white ruffed lemurs are matriarchal. Groups are territorial and use scent marking and loud calls to their neighbors to establish ranges, often in a sequence that is given by one group to another.

The ruffed lemur has few predators due to its large size, but the largest carnivore in Madagascar, the fossa, is its main killer, they are expert climbers and so a deadly predator to most lemur species. The main threat to lemurs is habitat loss, due to slash-and-burn agriculture, logging, and mining.

Black and white ruffed lemurs usually have two or three babies at a time. Ruffed lemurs are the only primates which build nests in trees for their babies. Most primates carry their babies around with them but ruffed lemurs leave them in the nest whilst they look for food.

Black and white ruffed lemurs, like many lemur species, use their long tails to help them balance. Ruffed lemurs have the second loudest call of all primates.