Grey Mouse Lemur: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Monkeys and Lemurs · day 7 of 7

Five facts

1. At night, mouse lemurs dash about like mice and leap more than 3 m, balancing with their tail. On the ground they hop like frogs.
2. The grey mouse lemur is tiny, among the smallest primates on Earth, yet it is the biggest of all the mouse lemurs.
3. Predators take around 25% of grey mouse lemurs a year, the highest known predation rate for any primate species.
4. At Kirindy Mitea National Park, up to 712 grey mouse lemurs per square kilometre have been counted.
5. Gestation averages 60 days and usually brings 2 or 3 babies, each weighing just 5 g (0.18 oz).

The quiz

1. What does a mouse lemur use its tail for when leaping?

• Digging
• Balance (correct)
• Gripping prey
• Signalling

It leaps over 3 m, using the tail as a balancing organ.

2. How does the grey mouse lemur rank in size among mouse lemurs?

• The smallest
• The middle one
• The second smallest
• The largest (correct)

It is one of the smallest primates, yet the largest mouse lemur.

3. About what share of grey mouse lemurs do predators take each year?

• Around 25% (correct)
• Around 2%
• Around 60%
• Around 90%

Predators take around 25% a year, the highest known for any primate.

4. How many grey mouse lemurs per square kilometre were counted at Kirindy Mitea National Park?

• Up to 7
• Up to 70
• Up to 712 (correct)
• Up to 7,000

Up to 712 individuals per square kilometre were recorded there.

5. How much does a newborn grey mouse lemur weigh?

• About 50 g
• About 5 g (correct)
• About 500 g
• About 1 kg

Offspring weigh 5 g each.

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