๐ฆ Animal world ๐ Mammals
The lemur
๐ In short
The lemur is a sweet animal with wide eyes and a long bushy tail. It lives only on Madagascar and the Comoros islands, near the southeast coast of Africa. Some kinds look like monkeys, and some small ones look like mice or squirrels.
๐คฉ Did you know?
- The indri is the biggest lemur, about 70 centimeters long.
- The ring-tailed lemur is up to 38 centimeters long, and its tail is longer than its body.
- Some small lemurs sleep by day and come out at night.
- Many kinds of lemurs are endangered because forests are being cut down.
๐ Find out more
๐ The ring-tailed lemur
The best-known lemur has a long tail with black and white rings. It holds its tail up high as it walks so its group can follow it.
๐ Sunbathing
On cool mornings a lemur sits, spreads its arms and faces the sun as if doing exercises, to warm its body before starting its day.
๐ก Groups led by females
Ring-tailed lemurs live in groups led by the females. They communicate with sounds and smells.
๐ฏ Found nowhere else
Madagascar split from Africa a very, very long time ago, and lemurs lived there on their own. That's why they're found nowhere else in the wild.
๐ธ More pictures
๐งฉ Test yourself
1 Where do lemurs live?
2 What is special about the best-known lemur's tail?
3 The indri is the biggest lemur, about ?? centimeters long.
4 Which picture shows โThe lemurโ?
