Common Name: Brown Lemur

Toxonomy: Mammalia Primata Lemuridae . Eulemur fulvus

Identification: There are seven different sub species of the Brown Lemur. Five of which are common brown, white fronted, collared, red fronted, and sanford's. All of them look very similar, with only a few small colorazation differences, most of which are donated by their names. They are the size of a house cat, and weigh approximately 5.75 lbs. Both the male and female look alike.

Environment: Each group of Brown lemurs have between 17 and 50 acres of land to call their own. Their habitats are the high plateaus and scattered forests on the west coast, which is to the north of the Betsiboka River, and the Islands of Mayotte, and the Comores.

Diet: Of course they are plant eaters, and their diet consists of fruit, young leaves and flowers. They don't sway from that formula much.

Behavior: The Brown lemurs can be found in groups of 3 to 12, although groups of up to 29 have been located. During the day the groups break off into sub groups of 3 to 4 for feeding and return at night. A very interesting point, no female dominance is present in the Brown lemur culture, quite different than most species.

Reproduction: Not unlike some other species, the brown lemurs have a gestation period of 120 days. They give birth in the fall. The infants cling to their mother for 3 to 4 weeks to nurse. From that point they start to ween themselves from the parent. At the 5 to 6 month point the children are probably off on their own.

Conservation: The Brown lemurs are largely hunted, and their forest habitats are being steadily depleted. All of the sub species are held in conservation centers around the island, and they are generally the most protected species of lemur.

Media:
[blank.jpg]..Shown Above