Everyone seems to be familiar with ring-tailed lemurs these days, and they definitely hold a special place in my heart. Their wide spread popularity is not surprising when you consider how many children’s shows have included them as characters. My personal favorite is ring-tailed lemur, King Julian from the movie Madagascar. He is definitely the most entertaining animated character of all time!
When I was a keeper, I often spent my free time observing our large group of ring-tailed lemurs. They have a relatively peaceful, but comical society. Often disagreements are settled with the females with babies clinging tightly to their backs at the front lines (that’s how risky the disagreements are). And, their most effective weapon is..…smell. Males arm up their tails with scent from glands on their wrists and fling it in the opponents’ general direction with great vigor. The whole event usually involves some dancing around each other until a smell wins out. It is all very entertaining.
I worked with a researcher that studied ring-tailed lemurs. She studied a group of lemurs living in caves in Madagascar. They actually looked quite different from the typical ring-tailed lemur. DNA work revealed they were in fact the same species but had evolved to have much puffier coats to keep them warm in their unique setting. During her studies with this group she also discovered the local Malagasy people in the area had created their own eco-tourism project using this group of cave dwelling lemurs. They charged to bring tourists to see these mysterious lemurs in the caves.
Dr. Jonah Ratsimbazafy is a Malagasy conservationist working to save lemurs and other species in Madagascar. Come and listen to his amazing stories on February 15th at 7:00 pm at the zoo. Be one of the first to hear all about his recent discovery of a brand-new lemur species! Enjoy beverages and tasty appetizers from Houston’s own Beaver’s restaurant and meet some of the Houston Zoo’s animals from Madagascar up-close. CLICK HERE to purchase your tickets.
If you are interested in journeying to this amazing land join the Houston zoo on our trip to Madagascar in 2013. CLICK HERE to learn more.
Ruffed lemurs are definitely one of my favorite species of lemur! They are terrible to clean up after, and horribly loud, but delightful characters. When I was a zoo keeper, I worked closely with the oldest Red-ruffed lemur in captivity at the time. I had to do some training with him once and the only reward he would consistently work for was his own reflection in a mirror. The fact that he appeared to adore himself made him even more adorable to me! 
