Meet Our Animals
The Brandywine Zoo proves that great things do come in small packages. The Zoo features animals from the tropical and temperate areas of North and South America, Asia and Africa. Our animals range from more common species to the highly endangered. All enjoy natural settings and welcome your visit to the zoo. Some animals may be off exhibit during cold weather.
Lemur catta
Ring-tailed Lemur
Habitat
Geographic Region & Range
Diet
Physical Description
Gray body with white bellies faces with a black “mask.” Their tail has 13 alternating bands of black and white.
Lifespan
Natural Habitat: 19 years
Under Human Care: Longer in human care
Threats
Status
What are AZA Zoos doing for
Ring-tailed Lemur
Their zoo population is managed through conservation breeding programs called Species Survival Plan programs, which ensures genetic diversity and species health. There are over 500 individuals ring-tailed lemurs at 100+ AZA-accredited facilities. AZA zoos fund and participate in field research focusing on the ecology of lemurs in Madagascar, the health of wild populations, genetics, training local residents in lemur protection strategies, and partnering with conservation organizations.
Fun Facts
Ring-tailed lemurs are the most terrestrial of all lemur species, spending sometimes as much as 40-50% of their time on the ground.
Unlike most other primates, lemurs are matriarchal- this means they live in female-dominate societies.
Ring-tailed lemurs live in some of the largest social groups of all lemurs, sometimes up to 30-35 individuals in an extended family!
Males and females look almost identical, and both weigh in at an average of 5 pounds!
Maki is the name for ring-tailed lemurs in Malagasy.
