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Critically Endangered.
The main reason is the loss of their rainforest habitat. Logging for cooking fuel and building materials, as well as slash-and-burn farming, has reduced Madagascar's forests by as much as 85%. Ruffed lemurs are also hunted for food.
Together with the red ruffed lemur, they are the largest extant members of the family Lemuridae, ranging in length from 100 to 120 cm (3.3 to 3.9 ft) and weighing between 3.1 and 4.1 kg (6.8 and 9.0 lb).
They are arboreal, spending most of their time in the high canopy of the rainforests on the eastern side of the island (Madagascar). They show definite preferences for larger trees, from two to four feet in diameter.
They are also diurnal, active exclusively in daylight hours.
Quadrupedal locomotion is preferred in the trees and on the ground, and suspensory behavior is seen during feeding.
As they are the most frugivorous of lemurs, their diet consists mainly of fruit, although nectar and flowers are also favored, followed by leaves and some seeds.
They have a complex social structure. They live in communities that can range from two to 16 animals; these communities can also break up into sub-groups. Adult females are dominant over males.
They seem to have no trouble communicating with each other, if the loudness of their voice is any indication. Among their many calls is the spectacular and unmistakable "roar/shriek," which is easy to hear over very long distances.
And as if that weren't enough, they also use smell as a way to communicate. Like all lemurs, ruffed lemurs scent-mark their surroundings. Males slide their chin/neck/chest area onto surfaces to leave behind their smell, whereas females scent-mark with their ano-genital (rump) area. Although lemurs do more scent-marking during the breeding season, this method of communication is used throughout the year.
They exhibit several reproductive traits typically found in small, nocturnal lemurs, such as a short gestation period, large litters and rapid maturation. Right before giving birth, a female makes a nest 60 to 80 feet from the ground in a tree. After a three-month gestation (pregnancy), she gives birth. Twins are the most common litter size. Babies stay in the nest for several weeks. Infants don't cling to their mother: when the mother moves them (she changes nest sites regularly), she carries her babies in her mouth.
epa01667289 Soldiers loyal to Madagascar's opposition leader and Antananarivo Mayor, Andry Rajoelina, attack the presidential offices in central Antananarivo, Madagascar, 16 March 2009. The attack met with no resistance from the army and no-one was injured. EPA/KIM LUDBROOK .
For more information please visit the Madagascar Wildlife Conservation Adventure project page of the Frontier website.
Images by Stacey Dabinett.
For more information please visit the Madagascar Marine Conservation and Diving project page of the Frontier website.
Madagascan Lark - Eremopterix hova - Мадагаскарский жаворонок
Isalo National Park, Ihorombe Region, Madagascar, 16/11/2016
Bienvenue dans un hôtel pas comme les autres. Entremer, c’est d’abord un lieu de détente à Belo sur mer, village de pêcheurs, célèbre pour ces chantiers de construction de boutres (bateaux traditionnels), sur les bords des plages du canal du Mozambique. Non loin de Morondava et des Tsingy, au sud ouest de Madagascar, notre hôtel et son équipe vous accueillent entre forêt de baobabs, salines, culture et douceur, plaisirs des sports aquatiques.
Madagascan rice farmers spreading freshly harvested rice on the side of a road. They use the sunlight to dry the rice out. Why not ay?
For more information please visit the Madagascar Wildlife Conservation Adventure project page of the Frontier website.