Lemurs dwell in the rainforests of Madagascar.
Lemurs are primitive primates that used to occupy several different rainforests, until apes out-competed many of them. They look like monkeys, have narrow faces with pointed snouts, long tails and slender frames. Lemurs tend to live on average between 20 to 25 years. Unfortunately, due to rainforest destruction, many species of lemurs have become extinct, and many species that remain are endangered.
Location
Lemurs are endemic to Madagascar, an island off the southeast cost of Africa. They were replaced by monkeys and other types of primates on the African mainland and other continents, but they survived due to isolation on the island of Madagascar.
Diet
According to Rainforest Adventures, a lemur's natural diet can vary according to the season, but generally includes insects, plants and fruits. They tend to consume more fruits, including different types of berries, in the wet season and insects in the dry season.
Lemur Communication
Lemurs mostly utilize smell to communicate with one another. Their scent glands are located on their back sides, and they leave their odors on surfaces they walk over with their feet. When other lemurs encounter these odors, they can sense that another lemur was there. Lemurs have large bushy tails they wave to each other as another form of communication.
Species
There are about 100 various lemur species, which fall into five different lemur families. Lemurs in the Lemuridae family are medium sized, dwell mainly in trees, and have long tails. The ring-tailed lemur is a member of this family. The Sportive Lemurs (Lepilemuridae family) include mainly herbivorous, nocturnal, solitary and territorial lemur species. The Aye-Aye family (Daubentoniidae) contains only one species, as the other species in this family have become extinct. It is nocturnal and herbivorous, and its habitat has been almost completely stolen due to rainforest destruction. Dwarf and mouse lemurs (family Cheirogaleidae) contain species of lemurs that are very small. Finally, the Indri, Sifakas and woolly lemurs (Indriidae family) encompass 13 species of completely herbivorous lemurs. Many lemurs in this family have become extinct.
Endangered Status
Many lemur species are endangered, and many have become extinct. This is due to massive loss of habitat as a result of rainforest destruction; according to the website All About Wild Life, about 90 percent of Madagascar's original rainforest has disappeared. Besides habitat destruction, scores of lemurs have been killed by people who have a superstition that lemurs are ghosts. They are listed as "vulnerable" on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of threatened species.
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