Alert!

The belted ruffed lemurs warn each other of danger by calling loudly. They have different alarm sounds for danger in the air, in the trees or on the ground. In zoos, belted ruffed lemurs and red varieties can understand each other. They respond to the other's alarm calls and join in in their own "language." This is quite remarkable because in the wild they never encounter each other.

Dangerous cradle

The belted ruffed lemur young are born in a nest. This is unusual because most young prosimians hold tightly to their mother after birth. Such a nest sits 10 to 20 meters above the ground in a tree. For the first three weeks of their lives, the young stay in the nest. If they need to be moved, the mother takes them in her mouth. Those first weeks are quite dangerous for young belted ruffed lemurs. Many young die from falling out of the tree.

Stinkers

Belted ruffed lemurs make all kinds of different sounds. But they can also tell each other things with smell. Males have scent glands under their chin and on their chest. In females, the scent is under their tails. They rub these scent glands over branches and tree trunks. This is how they let other belted ruffed lemurs know this is their territory.

From flower to flower

In the wild, belted ruffed lemurs sometimes eat nectar. This is a sweet liquid found mostly in flowers. When a belted ruffed lemur eats nectar, pollen often sticks to its face. It then takes that back to the next flower. Thus, the belted ruffed lemur helps to pollinate plants.