What do Alaotran gentle lemurs look like?
Gentle lemurs are small primates, covered in dense woolly fur. Their tails are as long as their bodies and their small, rounded features are very cute.
Alaotran gentle lemur facts
These lemurs like to live in family groups of one female, one male, and their offspring. Like other lemurs, grooming forms a large part of socialising. They use their hands and front teeth to collect are fleas and parasites out of their family member’s fur.
These lemurs can actually swim, with mothers even carrying their young on her back as she does so. Only 5000 of these lemurs exist on Madagascar, making them one of the most endangered lemurs.
What do Alaotran gentle lemurs eat?
They are herbivores, enjoying papyrus grass and reeds.
Alaotran gentle lemurs habitat
They can be found in the tropical grassland in Madagascar.
What threats do Alaotran gentle lemurs face?
The main threat to these animals is the loss of habitat. They can only be found in the papyrus marshes that surround Lake Alaotra. With fisherman and farmers burning and draining most of this land, the gentle lemur only has 13,000 ha of marsh left to live on.
See an Alaotran gentle lemur at London Zoo
