More Fun than You Can Shake a Really Long Black and White Striped Tail At

Some animals just get all the attention. And in Madagascar, this is the animal that has stolen the show. Everyone wants to see ring-tailed lemurs. Hundreds or different frogs. More chameleons than any place on earth. Insects that look like aliens designed them. Thousands of strange and wonderful plants. But no, everyone wants to see King Julian and his ring-tailed buddies.

Well, fine. Here you go. I finally got to see some of these attention hogs on a recent trip south. Enjoy the cute pics, But I am going to force you to learn a bit as you go. I am a science teacher after all.

Ring-Tailed Lemur Fact #1:

There is no King Julian. There may be a Queen Julia though. Almost all mammals (furry, milk-drinking, not-hatched-from-an-egg animals) have kings or they just get along fine with no one in charge. But hyenas and ring-tailed lemurs kicked the kings out and have queens instead. A female runs the lemur troop. That's why a group of lemurs is called a matriarchy.

Ring-Tailed Lemur Fact #2:

Ring-Tails are talkative little lemurs. They are a teacher's nightmare; they never stop yapping. They have calls for everything. They moan, click, purr. They talk to each other to keep the group together as they bound and walk through the forest in search of food. And the yell to let everyone know a lemur-eatin' foe is nearby. Click here to listen to some samples.

Ring-Tailed Lemur Fact #3:

Though they still love the trees as much as the next lemur, Ring-tailed lemurs do spend more time on the ground than any other Malagasy prosimian (lemur).

Ring-Tailed Lemur Fact #4:

Madagascar is in the tropics, but that doesn't mean it's nice and warm all the time. Nights can be chilly. That is why ring-tails like to plop down and face the sun in the morning for a good ol' tanning session. They face the sun and expose their thinly-furred belly to the warm sunshine. And if the night is particularly nippy, the lemurs huddle together to form a big toasty lemur ball. Now how cute is that?

Ring-Tailed Lemur Fact #5:

Being a boy lemur can really stink. That's not exactly right. Let me try that again. Boy lemurs can really stink. There, that's better. Both boys and girls have scent glands they use to mark their troop's territory, but the boys also use their foul cologne to fight. Stink fight to be precise. They rub their stink on their tails and then duel it out to be king. (Ok, not king. We already learned that isn't true in the first fact.) And when it comes time to mate and make baby lemurs, the boys use their stinky tails to attract the girls. I guess lemurs don't care for flowers and chocolate.

Ring-Tailed Lemur Fact #6:

Lemurs are not endangered, but they are classified as Near Threatened which means they are on their way to endangered if they aren't protected. And actually it isn't the lemurs that need protecting; it is their forests. Farming, grazing, mining, you name it. It is destroying the trees of Madagascar. Nine out every ten trees have been cut down. And since Madagascar is a very poor country, people do what they can for food and money. That means that sometimes people eat lemurs or capture them and sell them as pets. But the Malagasy government and many environmental groups are doing their best to make sure Ring-tail lemurs always have a home.