Found in the south western part of the island of Madagascar and on some small neighbouring islands, the Ring-tailed lemur with its distinctive ringed tail and huge staring eyes is threatened by habitat loss.

The Cango Wildlife Ranch originally acquired 5 of these primates (4 males and one female) who became part of the Valley of Ancients family. They have crept into the hearts of all the staff at the Ranch, and help to educate visitors on the repercussions of habitat destruction.They have been breeding very well, raising several twins in the troop.

Interesting facts:

Lemurs were often thought of as ghosts by early explorers to Madagascar due to their huge staring eyes, elusive behavior and the haunting sound that they make. These primates spend most of their time in trees and can usually be spotted in the early morning sitting in the sun with their arms spread out.

A troop consists of up to 15 – 20 individuals in which the females rule. When territorial fights break out between groups, the females are the front lines and will threaten opposing females by leaping and darting towards them. It is also the female lemurs that mark trees with their scent to warn off other intruders. Males usually stay in the background until the battle is over and should a squabble break out between a male and a female, the female always wins the argument!

Males tend to come and go from one troop to another whereas females will stay in the troop they were born into. The core of a group consists of females and their young who always find the best feeding spot and eat first while the males wait for them to finish or feed in a less desired feeding spot nearby.

When males want to show off to the females, they rub their tails with a smelly perfume they secrete from glands in their wrists. Once soaked in their perfume, they raise their tails over their heads, point them at each other and fling the odour around to determine who's scent is superrior.

Males reach maturity at the age of 18 months and females at 30 months. Females are in oestrus for only one day of the year. Gestation lasts 135 days after which Mom will usually give birth to one infant only. The baby clings to the female’s belly for the first two weeks after which it will switch to riding on her back. It is therefore not surprising that falling is the leading cause of death among infants.

Of the original 40 species of lemurs in the world, only 22 remain today, of which all are threatened. 14 Lemur species have gone extinct in recent years due to hunting and habitat destruction. With the deforestation continuing in Madagascar it is estimated that the Madagascar Ring-tailed lemur will become extinct in the wild within the next 30 years.