When do lemurs reproduce

Ring-tailed lemur scent-marking — and breeding season! Previous Next. Acupuncture for lemurs? Yes, please! News Blog Events. Donate Volunteer Internships. Email: ude. Bob Sussman — , a pioneer of lemur research and a highly respected scholar of primatology and biological anthropology.

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Study site and sample collection Across seven capture years between and , we collected biological samples blood or hair from safely captured, sedated L.

Genetic analyses The protocol for DNA extraction and amplification has been previously described Parga et al. Open in a separate window. Figure 1. Table 1 Heterozygosity and allele number for loci used in paternity analysis. Black 3 5 0. Mate guarding constrains foraging activity of male baboons. Animal Behaviour , 51 , — Age cohorts as paternal sibships.

Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology , 6 , — A field study of the sociobiology of the rhesus monkey, Macaca mulatta. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences , , — Male competition and paternity in wild chimpanzees of the Tai forest.

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Molecular Ecology , 8 , — Models of reproductive skew: A review and synthesis. Ethology , , 5— Lemur behavior: A Madagascar field study. Molecular Ecology Notes , 6 , — Molecular Ecology , 16 , — Female dominance in Lemur catta : More than just female feeding priority? Folia Primatologica , 55 , 92— Mutual tolerance or reproductive competition? Patterns of reproductive skew among male redfronted lemurs Eulemur fulvus rufus.

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Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology , 60 , — Paternity analysis of alternative male reproductive routes among the langurs Semnopithecus entellus of Ramnagar. Animal Behaviour , 61 , 53— A female can give birth to between one and six young at a time. Smaller species of lemurs tend to give birth to more babies, according to the San Diego Zoo. Baby lemurs, called pups, generally cling to their mother's belly for the first three to four weeks of life and then ride on her back until they are 3 to 4 months old.

Lemurs can take between one and three-and -a-half years to reach adulthood, depending on the species. The lifespan of lemurs depends on the species as well. According to ADW, gray mouse lemurs Microcebus murinus live an average of 14 years in captivity; ring-tailed lemurs usually live 16 years in the wild but may reach 33 years old in captivity; and black-and-white ruffed lemurs Varecia variegata can live for more than 35 years in captivity.

Lemurs are occasionally kept as pets in the U. Lemurs naturally live in complex social groups and are not suited to living with humans in a domestic setting. Pet lemurs also have a strong, unpleasant odor, and often become aggressive when they reach sexual maturity. A study published in the journal PLOS One estimated that more than 30, wild-caught lemurs were being kept as pets in Madagascar.

The study noted that one-third of attempts to keep pet lemurs resulted in the death of the lemur and once they are kept as pets, it's almost impossible to return them to the wild. The motivation for capturing wild lemurs often comes from the tourism industry.

The main reasons lemur populations have declined so significantly is because of habitat loss due to deforestation and hunting in Madagascar. Their habitat is often destroyed so that it can be used for agriculture, and they are hunted for food. Related: More than half of all primates threatened with extinction.

Critically endangered lemur species include indris, black-and-white ruffed lemurs, Sibree's dwarf lemurs, blue-eyed black lemurs and mongoose lemurs. Gray mouse lemurs and gray-brown mouse lemurs Microcebus griseorufus are the only lemur species that are currently not threatened with extinction and are placed in the lowest-risk category.

However, the IUCN notes that even these species are likely in decline and may be moved into the threatened category in the future. Finally, Groves' dwarf lemurs Cheirogaleus grovesi and Nosy Boraha mouse lemurs Microcebus boraha are listed as data deficient, which means there isn't enough information about their populations for the IUCN to make an assessment.

This article was originally written by Live Science contributor Alina Bradford and has since been updated. Patrick is a staff writer for Live Science. His background is in wildlife conservation and he has worked with endangered species around the world.

Gould, et al. Ring-tailed lemurs are found in three distinct habitats in south and southwestern Madagascar: continuous canopy forest, brush and scrub forests, and mixed forests. Continuous canopy forests in this region are dominated by Tamarind trees Tamarindas indica and other large trees reaching meters in height.

Brush and scrub forests are drier than open forests and lower in height. Although ring-tailed lemurs are found in all tree habitats, they are most commonly found in the continuous canopy forests.

Budnitz and Dainis, ; Gould, et al. Ring-tailed lemurs have a body length ranging from 39 to 46 cm in length with a tail ranging in length from 56 to 63cm and an average body weight of 2. The body, covered in a thick, dense fur, is a solid color ranging from gray to brown, with a long, thick tail.

The tail has thick, well defined, black and white rings from stem to tip. Typically, individuals have a white face mask, with black outlining the eyes and nose. They have a lighter colored underbelly ranging from light gray or brown, to white.

Ring-Tailed Lemurs have four thin fingers and a thumb on their upper and lower appendages, each ending in a dark colored nail. The thumbs on the upper appendages are not opposable as the joint is fixed. The first toe on the lower appendage is opposable, is used while climbing trees in the mid and upper level canopy. Cawthon lang, ; Gould, et al. Ring-tailed lemurs begin mating in April, with a gestation period of to days, giving birth beginning in August and finishing in September.

Females are not reproductively active until 2. Females typically give birth to one or two offspring, more commonly females will only have one. Females typically mate with more than one male during estrous. Males will compete amongst themselves for the right to mate with the females. Offspring are completely cared for by the mother. Newborns spend their first two weeks of life riding on the underbellies of their mothers. After the first two weeks the young ride on the backs of their mothers and begin to explore their surroundings.

The males in the troops do very little for the young. The young are weaned starting at eight weeks of age, until they are fully weaned at five months, all nutrition is obtained from the mother. This mortality rate decreases if the mother is older in age, or has previously given birth.

Cawthon lang, ; Sauther, ; Wilson and Hanlon, Care of the young lies solely with the mother, with males in the group have little to no impact on raising young.