New Insights into a Little-Known Lemur

Red brown lemurs (Eulemur rufus) were surprisingly difficult to observe when Wildlife Madagascar first began working in Tsingy de Namoroka National Park, and they would often flee as soon as they spotted us. Through patient habituation, however, we can now regularly follow these charismatic and highly social lemurs, giving us an opportunity to learn more about how they live in Namoroka’s dry deciduous forests.

The red brown lemur is also sexually dichromatic, meaning that males and females have different coloration, an unusual feature that makes it possible to tell the sexes apart by appearance. Surprisingly little is known about this species, partly because scientists only relatively recently recognized it as a species in its own right after it was previously grouped with other very similar-looking brown lemurs. Our observations at Namoroka are helping to fill these knowledge gaps and build a better understanding of this fascinating species and how we can best protect it.

The red brown lemur is one of 10 lemur species found at Namoroka and is listed as Vulnerable, with habitat loss and fragmentation among the threats to its survival.