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Black-and-white ruffed lemur (Varecia variegata variegate)

Black-and-white ruffed lemur
Black-and-white ruffed lemurBlack-and-white ruffed lemurBlack-and-white ruffed lemur

Personal Information
There is one female black-and-white ruffed lemur, Zia, born in 1985. Zia is tailless due to an accident. Lemurs frequently make very loud alarm calls if they spot shadows across their cage or hear noises that they cannot identify. Read about how our keepers help Zia keep active and social in a Keeper Blog post from September of 2012.

Status in the Wild
International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List status: Critically endangered. In Madagascar, zoos have been introducing new animals into the wild to prevent inbreeding and keep the population healthy. Educational awareness programs teach children ways humans and lemurs can both thrive in Madagascar. The Seneca Park Zoo participates in the Species Survival Plan for the black-and-white ruffed lemurs.

Habitat
Ruffed lemurs live in Eastern Madagascar in the humid rainforests.

Diet
The lemur’s diet consists of fruit, leaves, nectar, flowers and seeds.

  • Predators of the black-and-white ruffed lemur include boa constrictors, eagles and the fossa, a relative of the mongoose.
  • A black-and-white ruffed lemur is quadrupedal, that is, it moves on all fours.
  • A black-and-white ruffed lemur can grow up to 4-feet long including its tail.
  • These lemurs live in small groups of about 2 to 5, and they all share a common home territory which they defend together.