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Brown
Lemur
One of the 49 species of Lemurs, the
Brown is one of the less colorful of the group. The only place on earth
to find this beautiful animal is the island nation of Madagascar. Living
in the mid-level of the rainforest, the Brown lemur is one of the less vocal
lemurs.
Generally living in small groups of 12 or less individuals,
the Brown lemur generally mates in spring with a gestation of approximately 4
and a half
months. The Brown Lemur shares the current fate of all
lemur species on the island of Madagascar, loss of habitat, coupled with hunting
by the local inhabitants of the island are putting unsustainable pressures on
this beautiful and intelligent animal.
Range: North east coast of
Madagascar
Natural Diet: Fruits, nuts &
berries, occasional insects and small vertebrate.
Diet at Rain Forest: Prepared
monkey chow with fresh fruits and vegetables. Bananas are a favorite of
most species of lemur.
Keepers Notes: The Brown
Lemur is one of the most arboreal of all lemur species. Spending upwards
of 95% of their time in the tree tops the lemur travels as a group from tree to
tree. Large arboreal and ground dwelling Boa Constrictors are one of the
main predators of this and many of the Lemur species. Madagascar has very
few large predators.
 Mating season is June: birth season is September and October.
One or two offspring are born. Usually one young born per year. Until 3 weeks of
age the young spend time riding on Mom's back, then they will take their first
steps. Nursing continues in a steady decline until the infant is approximately
5-6 months of age.
The lemurs belong to a family called Prosimians, literally
translated this means "early monkeys"
Size: Male and female Lemurs
weigh about 4-6 pounds each, males are slightly larger.
Status in Wild: Endangered
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Madagascar -2005 |
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New Lemur Species Discovered in Madagascar
German Scientists Name One Species after WWF Biologist
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Goodman's Mouse
Lemur has a white stripe on its nose, maroon, orange and white fur, and
short, rounded ears.
photo: Robert Zingg |
Two new lemur species have been discovered on the island nation of
Madagascar and one of them has been named after
Dr. Steve Goodman, a scientist with World Wildlife Fund and Chicago's
Field Museum of Natural History.
Goodman's Mouse Lemur (Microcebus lehilahytsara) is barely bigger
than a mouse, has a white stripe on its nose, maroon, orange and white fur,
and short, rounded ears (lehilahytsara is the Malagasy word for good man).
Scientists with the German Primate Center and the University of Göttingen
and their Malagasy collaborators analyzed its genetic makeup and determined
it was an entirely new species of mouse lemur.
The scientists named it after Goodman, coordinator of WWF's Ecology
Training Program and Senior Field Biologist at The Field Museum in
recognition of his almost two decades of field research and its contribution
to understanding the diversity of Madagascar's unique and threatened fauna.
"It's a great privilege to have this species named after me, but it
really honors all of the project members, scientists and researchers who
work in the field with us over the years," Goodman said. "These discoveries
underline how little we know about the fauna of Madagascar."
The second species, Mirza zaza, was named in honor of Madagascar's
children, since zaza is the Malagasy word for child. It is nocturnal,
weighing about 10 ounces and is the size of a gray squirrel.
Lemurs exist only on Madagascar and are considered the most endangered of
all primates. The discovery of two new species shows the importance of
conserving Madagascar's rapidly disappearing forests.
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