Lemur | San Diego Zoo Animals & Plants

Lemurs living in social groups take their lead from the dominant female. She decides where and when the group will move. In between eating and resting, lemurs may spend their time sunbathing or grooming each other. Compared to most primates, lemurs have different tools for this activity. They use an elongated nail on the second toe, called a grooming claw, and finely spaced teeth, referred to as a toothcomb, for grooming.

All lemurs have a defined breeding season, which lasts from a few days to a few months, depending on the species. The number of offspring varies among species and can range from one to six (one is more typical). For many species, infants cling to the mother’s belly for the first three to four weeks of life and start to gradually spend more time riding on Mom’s back. At three to four months of age, the mother encourages her babies to find alternative methods of transportation.

Lemur babies usually begin to try solid foods when three to four weeks old and are weaned at five to six months. For some species, such as the gray mouse lemur, infants are not able to grasp onto the mother, so she carries them in her mouth when she moves them. Some lemur species have an unusual way of caring for their infants: they make a nest and then later park them on a small branch in dense vegetation. This keeps the little ones hidden from predators while the mother forages. This method of care works for about a month—by then, the babies are mobile and not interested in staying put any more!

Lemurs communicate primarily through scent and vocalizations. Their sounds vary by species and can include grunts (brown lemurs and sifaka), loud alarm calls and sounds that sound like the mewing of a cat (ring-tailed lemurs), chirps (mouse lemurs), and wailing calls that are reminiscent of whale songs (indri). Lemurs rely heavily on their sense of smell and leave scent markings to communicate with each other, too.

The method of communication used the least are physical signals. Lemurs lack many of the facial muscles other primates use to communicate with facial expressions.

Ring-tailed lemurs use their tail for communication. They hold their tail up, so other lemurs can see it in the brush. Male ring-tailed lemurs have "stink fights." They rub their wrist scent glands all over their tail, then wave it in front of each other.