Meet the primates
RING-TAILED
Size: About 22 inches in length, including tail. Weight: 5 to 7.5 lbs. Average lifespan in the wild: 18 years. Diet: Predominantly fruit, but will also eat leaves, tree bark and sap.
Fun facts: Ring-tailed lemurs use their powerful scent glands as both a communication tool and, during mating season, as a weapon. A dominant female generally leads troops that can range in size from six to 30. Unlike many of their cousins, they can’t grip with their tails, so they spend a lot of time on the ground.
RED-RUFFED
Size: About 24 inches in length, including tail. Weight: 7 to 8 lbs. Average lifespan in the wild: 15 to 20 years. Diet: Primarily a fruit eater, they also eat leaves and shoots, and greatly enjoy figs.
Fun facts: Despite living in different parts of Madagascar, the red-ruffed lemur and the black-and-white ruffed lemur understand each other’s calls. Using their long claws and teeth, they can spend hours grooming, which is believed to be connected to their social hierarchy. They’re rather timid and known for making very tidy nests.
BLACK-AND-WHITE RUFFED
Size: Between 39 and 46 inches, including tail. Weight: 6.8 to 9 lbs. Average lifespan in the wild: 18 years Diet: Fruit makes up about 92 per cent of their diet, but they also eat leaves, nectar and fungi.
Fun facts: The loud and proud black-and-white ruffed lemurs communicate with several different, and often raucous, calls. While they’re very similar to the red-ruffed species, they have a much smaller population despite a vastly larger range. In the wild, troop size can fluctuate based on resource availability — when food is scarce they will split into smaller groups to survive.