Common Name: Red-Bellied Lemur

Toxonomy: Mammalia Primata Lemuridae . Eulemur rubriventer

Identification: It's about the size of a house cat, and weighs in at 4.5lbs. The coat is dark brown, with a black tail. The difference between sexes, is that the male has a redish brown underbelly, while the the females undersides are white with a hint of brown. The males also have white patches underneath their eyes.

Environment: They live in middle to high altitude rainforests. Their primary location is centered around the eastern mainland, with their range spreading thorughout that region.

Diet: The dite of the Red-Bellied lemur range from fruit, to flowers, to the leaves of plants. In fact this species of lemur has been found to eat about 67 different species of plant leaves.

Behavior: As is the case with most lemurs, the females in the group are dominant over the males. This species shows no signs of territorial behavior. They travel in groups of 2 to 5 lemurs. Also similar to most species, they use grooming for a bonding technique, using the teeth of their lower jaw as a crude comb.

Reproduction: Giving offspring to 1 lemur, they are ready to mate after 2 years of maturing. They usually mate in the months May to June, and the gestation period is 120 days, giving birth sometime in October. The young ride the mother's stomach, until two weeks, when they transfer to the mother's back. After 5 weeks the lemurs are sent away on their own.

Conservation: The primary threat to the Red-Bellied lemur is that of rainforest destruction, as is the case with several other lemur species. Their are roughly 30 lemurs in captivity, with several protected areas dotting the mainland of Madagascar.

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