Female Dominance and Stink Fights
Adult female ring-tailed lemurs are almost always dominant over the males in a group. While young females usually remain in their birth group, young males must leave. They establish a dominance hierarchy - the most important method for this are "stink fights". During these, they soak their ringed tails with no secretion of their arm glands and then wave them in the direction of their competitors. There are higher-ranking and lower-ranking males. The rank of the males also depends on their age - the higher-ranking males are usually between six and nine years old, so in the "prime of their lives". The lower-ranking animals are usually younger or older animals.
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Category: Mammal
Weight: around 2.2 kg
Breeding duration: 26-28 days
Sexually mature: around 2-4 years
gestation period: around 135 days
feed: Fruits, leaves, blossoms, buds, bark, invertebrates, small vertebrates
Power: up to 250 eggs / year; tasty, low-fat meat
Way of life: day active, lives in dry, thorn bush and gallery forests
Danger: Critically endangered
distribution: South and southwest Madagascar
distribution area
