Mongoose lemur

Scientific name:Eulemur mongoz

Country: Madagascar

Continent: Africa

Diet: fruits - frugivore, leaves - folivore, nectar - nectarivore, particularly the flowers of the Kapok tree

Food & feeding: Herbivore

Habitats: Tropical dry forest

Conservation status: Vulnerable

Relatives: Ring-tailed lemur, Aye-aye, Indri

Description: Mongoose lemurs have soft grey-brown fur with a pale grey muzzle and black nose. The males have reddish-brown cheeks and may have a bald patch on top of their heads, caused by rubbing when scent-marking their territories. Females by contrast, have whitish cheeks. They are about 30 cm long, with a 45 cm tail and weigh roughly one kilo.

Lifestyle: Mongoose lemurs are arboreal and extremely agile, leaping between trees. On the ground they usually move on all fours but occasionally burst into a bipedal run. They are active for periods of both day and night (cathemeral). During the dry season they forage more at night, when the air is cooler.

Family & friends: They usually live in small groups, consisting of an adult pair up to three immature young, and have small home patches of about 3 acres that overlap with neighbours.

Keeping in touch: Like other lemurs, mongoose lemurs have a good sense of smell and use scent marking to signal to other neighbouring groups. Males use the top of their head when scent-marking - and may end up bald as a result.

Growing up: In the wild young are born in October, just before the rainy season, after a gestation period of about 4 months. Weaning occurs at about 5 months but the young usually remain with their parents until fully mature at 3 years old. In the wild, a mongoose lemur may live 18-20 years or up to 26 years in captivity.

Conservation news: The range of the mongoose lemur has probably always been limited but its range is now reduced to scattered patches of western dry forest. This habitat is threatened by slash-and-burn farming and charcoal-burning. Mongoose lemurs are known to occur in only one protected area: Ankarafantsika Nature Reserve. The current wild population is estimated to be between 1,000 and 10,000 animals. This makes the lemurs in captivity especially important - and those at the Zoo are part of a Europe-wide Conservation Breeding Programme.

Mongoose lemurs love nectar - in some areas 80% of their dry season diet is the rich nectar of the Kapok tree, whose flowers open in the evening.