DID YOU KNOW?
Black and white ruffed lemurs give birth to their babies in a nest that the mother would have built. The nests, in Monkeyland, are high up in the trees and resemble a bird’s nest. The position of the nest is important so that mom has a good vantage point to spot predators. The babies stay in the nest for up to two weeks.

The female has six nipples instead of two so that she is able to feed anything up to 6 babies.
The mother will carry her babies one at a time in the wonderful; she grabs them around the waist. The problem that arises as a result of this is that mom has to leave her babies unguarded to predators in the process of taking one to safety. Mom gets very flustered during this time and her lack of great intelligence means that mom may forget where she has put her babies. The babies help their mother in this department by developing incredibly quickly. A Black and White Ruffed lemur reaches physical maturity by the 6 months.

HABITAT
Primary rain forest. Black and White ruffed Lemurs only occur in undisturbed forest and are the first to disappear when logging takes place.
Eastern Rain Forest of Madagascar.

LIFE HISTORY
Black and White Ruffed lemurs reach sexual maturity only after 20 months and can have their first set of offspring by the age of 2. Black and White ruffed are one of the only primates that will give birth to anything up to 6 babies in a single birth, although twins and triplets are most common. The gestation period is as a result only 3-4 months long. The female can have babies every year there after.

SOCIAL STRUCTURE
Variable 1 male 1 female or multimale-multifemale.
They also occur in groups of up to 16.

BEHAVIOR
Diurnal and Arboreal.
Females form the core of the group and will gang up to defend their territory. To detract attention from the nest black and White ruffed lemur females will attack ground predators and sitting aerial predators. During the winter months they travel less and feed more. Winter months are spent mainly sunning themselves.

ASSOCIATIONS
No known associations.

MATING
The females are dominant and so can choose with whom they would prefer to mate. The male will approach the female sniffing around her to ascertain whether she is in estrus or not. The female will generally chase him away with vocalizations and slapping with an open hand. The male sometimes responds with a full vocalization to which the female joins in.

TERRITORIAL MARKING
This is done vocally with most of the group joining in and can be heard for up to 1.5 km.

SCENT MARKING
Black and White ruffed lemurs have a sweet smelling fur and in attempt to scent mark their territory they will rub their bodies onto branches. While they do this the mouth is slightly open allowing saliva to be left behind.

VOCALIZATIONS
There are six vocalization relating to just predators and this also includes a call to regroup once the coast is clear.

Contact calls occurring between mother and child.
Aggressive calls to indicate irritation with another group member.

Territorial calls
Mobbing calls – this is given by all members while they mob intruders.

THREATS TO THE SPECIES
Black and White ruffed lemurs are large lemurs feeding on large fruits. When deforestation occurs the larger trees are cut down first and so the Black and White Ruffed Lemur is the first to disappear. They are also poached for the bush meat and pet trades.