It appears the ring-tailed lemur is meditating. Positioning itself in the sun, hands slightly raised, this primate is the picture of peace. Contrary to that catchy song from the film Madagascar, these lemurs don’t like to move it, move it – that much.
While they’re agile in trees, ring-tailed lemurs prefer spending their time on the ground where there is room to roam. Social in nature, they live in troops of up to 30, often curling up in a ball of animals and grooming one another. When traversing their territory, they will raise their 13-ringed tail as a flag to signal where they are. But even with 28 distinct calls to communicate with each other, they don’t always get along. Males engage in stink fights, rubbing their scent on their tails and then spreading the smell to claim breeding rights.
Endemic to Madagascar, this highly endangered species is threatened by habitat loss and hunting. The exact number of ring-tailed lemurs left in the wild is unknown. And though they are prolific throughout zoos, they often lack the space they need. These lemurs previously lived in captivity, but are now free to wander around Monkeyland in KwaZulu-Natal, foraging along the ground for flowers, fruits, and leaves. Or they’ll just sit, chill, and worship the sun.
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