Interesting Facts

• Lemurs are found only on the island of Madagascar off of the east coast of Africa.  They are not found in the wild anywhere else in the world.
• Lemurs are prosimians, which means pre-monkey.  They rely more on their sense of smell than on eyesight and have smaller brains than monkeys and apes.
• Lemurs move easily through the trees using their hands and feet. Unlike some primates, they aren’t able to use their tails to grasps trees.  Ring-tailed lemurs spend more time on the ground than other lemur species.
• Lemurs live in groups of 6 to 30 individuals.  These groups, or troops, consist of males and females with the females being dominant over the males.
• The front teeth of lemurs resemble a small comb.  They use these teeth to groom.  
• Lemurs make a noise that sounds like a cat’s purr.