Like all lemurs they are tree dwellers, but ring-tails uniquely spend much of their time on the ground to increase their food and territory options in harsh habitats. Females rule and routinely jockey for position in the troop’s hierarchy. They also lead the ground battles with neighboring troops over land rights.

The Basics

Scientific name	Lemur catta
Diet:	Fruit, leaves, bark, sap, flowers
Size:	15–18 inches (head and body); 22–25 inches (tail); 5–8 pounds
Range:	Southern Madagascar
Habitat:	Spiny forest, dry scrub, and deciduous and gallery forests
Group living:	The largest lemur groups, with up to 25 individuals; composed of a mix of adult females and males, plus juveniles. Females are dominant and usually stay with the group into which they were born. Most males transfer to different groups.
Reproduction:	Usually single offspring; sometimes twins. Youngsters ride on mother until several months old.
Conservation status:	Vulnerable
Threats:	Habitat loss and hunting. Population has suffered 20 percent loss in recent decades. Ring-tails face a high risk of extinction in the wild over the next few decades.

Mastering Their Domain

• Ring-tails are the most terrestrial of lemurs, taking to the ground to travel and maximize their food opportunities in forests where vegetation is sparse. They keep their tails raised high to signal their location to other group members.
• In habitats characterized by month-long droughts followed by torrential rains, desert plants and ring-tailed lemurs manage to survive. The lemurs have special footpads that let them move around cactus and other thorny vegetation to pluck and eat the plants’ tiny leaves.
• Scent marks the spot: Ring-tails mark their boundaries by scent-marking trees. Females do a handstand to rub their undersides, and their scent, on these natural fence posts.
• Their language includes a variety of howls, meows, growls, yaps, and barks that are used as greetings, threats, alarms, or long-distance contact calls.
• Ring-tail calls that warn of predators are amazingly specific: One call signals a snake; another means there is a bird of prey circling overhead; a third indicates a fossa is around.
• Females totally dominate the group, serving as leaders and prime defenders of territory. Males compete for their affection during the breeding season.

Ring-tails in the Ring

Ring-tailed lemurs like to play, but they spar a lot, too – with other groups over territory, within their own troop for dominance, and during breeding season. Most of these dust-ups involve the females.

Spats are minor flare-ups between individuals that determine who’s dominant.

Mobbing is when the entire troop faces off against a threat – a predator or another troop – by staring, vocalizing, and lunging forward toward the problem.

Stink fights occur between male ring-tails. They scent their tails with their wrist glands, then wave the pungent “flag” at their competitor.

Jump fights are the real thing and mean real trouble between group members or with ring-tail intruders. The lemurs rise on their hind legs, arms outspread, then jump downward to slash each other with sharp upper canine teeth.