Ring Tailed Lemur

Lemur catta (ring-tailed lemur) is the only species of the genus Lemur that belongs to the family Lemuridae (Groves & Eaglen, 1988). As described by Wilson and Hanlon (2010), this medium-sized strepsirrhine primate is recognized by the black and white rings around its long tail, and are found in the arid forests of southwestern Madagascar, where they move about mostly on the ground but are also partly arboreal (Wilson & Hanlon, 2010). Despite their seeming “abundance” because of their frequent presence in zoos, ring-tailed lemur populations are decreasing in the wild (Wilson & Hanlon, 2010). In 1990, ring-tailed lemurs were listed as “Vulnerable,” but in 2014 their conservation status changed to “Endangered” (IUCN, 2014). Over the last 36 years, the total wild population of ring-tailed lemurs in Madagascar reduced by at least 50%, according to the IUCN (2014). This decline lead to the change in their conservation status from “Vulnerable” to “Endangered.”
This large decrease in ring-tailed lemur populations has been the result of many factors, the most …show more content…
Both female and male ring-tailed lemurs have genitals that are covered in scent (Wilson & Hanlon, 2010). Males, but not females, also possess brachial scent glands, located under their upper arms near their shoulders, and antebrachial scent glands, located inside of their wrists (Wilson & Hanlon, 2010). Ring-tailed lemurs use these glands to deposit their scent on objects, usually trees (Wilson & Hanlon, 2010). When genital marking, a ring-tailed lemur will stand on its arms and rub its genitals on a tree, leaving a small patch of their scent (Wilson & Hanlon, 2010). Males scent mark with their brachial glands by rubbing the area onto the desired target; they scent mark with their antebrachial glands by rubbing their wrists repeatedly over the target (Wilson & Hanlon,