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Black lemur - LEMUR MACACO
Endangered
Class: Animals with Milk Glands (Mammalia)
The word "Lemur": "Lemur" is Latin for "ghostlike," coined by Linneaus (the man who started naming animals in Latin), because it has a ghostlike face and it is active at night.
Description: The snout is pointed and foxlike, and the hind legs are considerably longer than the front legs with this lemur. The toes all have claws for easy scampering in the trees. The coat is long and soft, black in males, and reddish in females. There is a dense collar of long hairs around the neck and close to the ears. The length of its head and body is from 12 to 18 in, with the tail 16 to 20 inches additional; weight five or six pounds.
Location: Northern Madagascar.
Habitat: Arboreal. Tropical forests.
Behavior: The black lemur feeds on fruit and insects. It is essentially arboreal and can leap as far as 26 feet. It is most active in the morning and toward nightfall, gathering in groups of about ten individuals, and it is territorial. In order to mark its territory it rubs its front legs against branches, rocks and other articles, thus leaving its scent on them. It may also use vocal signals to keep others away. Its shrieks are quite terrifying when the whole group cries in unison. It takes great care of its own coat, and spends many hours a day cleaning it, using its claws and its lower incisor dental comb to do so.
Reproduction: The female usually gives birth to just a single offspring, after a gestation period of about 128 days, in March through June. The young are suckled for about six months and remain with their mother at all times, clinging tightly to the fur on her back.
Go to the Primates Page to learn about these man-like animals.
Go to the Index to compare the various lemurs found in America Zoo.
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