Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur (Varecia variegata) lives in tropical rainforest across Eastern Madagascar. It feeds on fruit and leaves. Its conservation status is Critically Endangered.
Fascinating facts about the Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur
- At up to 1.2 m long and 4 kg heavy, the black-and-white ruffed lemur is one of the largest living members of Lemuridae. Its body length ranges from 100 to 120 cm and it weighs between 3.1 and 4.1 kg. Size matters because larger primates provide more meat, driving the illegal market that targets this species the hardest.
- Fruit makes up 92 % of the black-and-white ruffed lemur's diet, and individuals will eat from 19 to 40 different tree species depending on where they live. Four fruit trees, Ravensara, Chrysophyllum boivinianum, Protorhus and Harungana madagascariensis, supply most of the calories.
- Female black-and-white ruffed lemurs dominate feeding groups, forcing males to wait while the dominant female leads the troop to food and eats first. This priority is crucial because reproductive females need extra energy to carry and care for litters, and the species has especially high energy demands.
- Gestation in this species lasts an average of 102.5 days and usually produces 2-6 infants that cannot cling to their mother, so mothers build up to 15 nests high in the canopy and move the babies between them for weeks. Communal nesting, where several mothers share a nest and all adults help guard the young, boosts infant survival compared with single-nesting females.
- All three subspecies are Critically Endangered, having lost about 80 % of their numbers in the 21 years before 2020, roughly three generations. In the densest stronghold, Nosy Mangabe, researchers counted only 29-43 individuals per km², while nearby sites held just 10-15 or even 0.4-2.5 per km².
Sources
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At a glance
RangeEastern Madagascar
HabitatTropical rainforest
DietFruit and leaves
About the Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur
In the mist-shrouded rainforests of Madagascar, the black-and-white ruffed lemur weaves a path of effortless elegance, its silken fur a mesmerizing dance of dark and light as it leaps from tree to tree with an almost ethereal grace. With a haunting, wailing call that echoes through the forest canopy, this critically endangered creature announces its presence, a poignant reminder of the fragility and beauty of a species teetering on the brink of extinction. As it moves through its arboreal realm, the lemur's very existence seems a testament to the enduring power of life in one of the planet's most threatened ecosystems.
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