If there are red-ruffed lemurs in a Madagascar forest, it’s a good sign. These big, vocal lemurs rely on large fruit trees for food and shelter, so if the lemurs are flourishing, the trees are flourishing, too. Red-ruffs give back to the forest, as well, by dispersing seeds and pollinating flowers.

The Basics

Scientific name	Varecia variegata rubra
Diet:	Fruit, nectar, pollen, insects, seeds
Size:	20­–22 inches (head and body); 24–26 inches (tail); 7–10 pounds
Range:	Masoala Peninsula (northeastern Madagascar)
Habitat:	Rainforest
Group living:	Small groups of 5–10 individuals, though some number up to 32; adult pair(s) and young. Females dominant.
Reproduction:	Twins and triplets common. Nests of twigs and leaves constructed for young. When moving the young, the mother carries each one in her mouth, usually hiding them in one place while she forages for food.
Conservation status:	Endangered. Red-ruff populations have declined by at least 50 percent within the past few decades.
Threats:	Habitat loss and hunting in unprotected areas

Mastering Their Domain

• Red-ruffed lemurs often hang upside down by their feet from branches to eat fruit or to play with or groom one another.
  
• They are fearless leapers, and can be heard crashing through the branches as they hurl themselves from tree to tree and level to level in the forest canopy.
  
• Red-ruffs are among the most vocal of primates, with an elaborate system of raucous alarm calls that can signal a variety of threats. The calls can be loud, deep, and resonant to carry an alarm signal to neighboring red-ruffed lemur groups in distant trees.
  
• Territories are defended by scent-marking. Males have glands on their muzzle, neck, and chest; females on their hindquarters.
  
• Unlike most other lemurs, red-ruffs build concealed nests for their young and keep them there for several weeks after birth.
  

The Great Pollinators

Red-ruffed lemurs play an important role in helping their forest homes thrive. Like giant bees or bats, they pollinate flowers when they eat nectar. When the lemur sticks its nose inside the flower, it comes out covered in pollen. The pollen gets rubbed off at the next flower. These lemurs also disperse fruit seeds throughout the forest.