Duke Lemur Center

Red ruffed lemur siblings Hubble, Kitt, and Spock enjoy a sunny day of free-ranging with their parents in their 6.2-acre forest enclosure 🌿

In Madagascar, ruffed lemurs appear to have a variable social system that changes depending on the season and the quality of their habitat. Ruffed lemurs will form larger groups (as large as 32 individuals!) during the wet season when food is plentiful and disperse during the dry season in search of scarcer fruit. When foraging for fruit, large groups might fragment completely as individuals go their separate ways—in striking contrast to other diurnal lemurs, which always forage and move through the forest together as cohesive groups 🤗

📸: Sara Nicholson

Before and after: Mama Liesl and her twins 👶👶

Not all lemur moms become visibly pregnant, but ring-tailed lemur Liesl had a very obviously round belly before giving birth to her twins! Ring-tailed lemurs have a gestation of about 4 1/2 months, which is average for many lemur species. Smaller nocturnal lemurs have shorter gestations (as short as 60 days for mouse lemurs and dwarf lemurs!), while larger lemurs like Coquerel's sifakas can be pregnant for almost 6 months. Breeding and birthing seasons vary by species as well 💕

📸: Sarah K. (1); David Haring (2)