Ring-Tailed Lemurs are named after their stripy tails, which have black and white rings. There are usually 13 stripes on a ring-tailed lemur’s tail, and their tails can grow up to 2 feet long, which is longer than their body. Their tails make this species the most popular type of lemur. 

​

They are very clever and use their tails for balance, but they also stick their tails straight up in the air when they are moving through the forest, and that way they don’t lose sight of each other.

​

Their backs usually range from grey to a rosy-brown, and they have dark faces and white bellies. Their dark eye patches help them see better in the sun – the patches act like sunglasses to reflect the sun’s rays.

​

Unlike other species of lemurs, ring-tailed lemurs prefer open areas of the rainforest, and spend most of their time on the forest floor. They walk around quadrupedally, which means they walk on all fours like a dog or cat.

Ring-tailed lemurs are very, social animals which spend a lot of their time grooming each other. They have 6 sharp teeth close together at the front of their mouths that looks like a comb to help them groom their fur.

​

A group of lemurs is called a ‘Troop’. Ring-tails live in groups from 5-25. Males will usually come and go, but females will spend their whole lives in the same troop. Females are the more dominant gender, which means in troops of lemurs, there is one girl who acts as the boss.

A ring-tailed lemur troop will gather in open areas of the forest to sunbathe. They sit in what is called a "yoga position" with their bellies toward the sun and their arms and legs stretched out to the sides. This position maximizes the exposure of the less densely covered underside of the lemurs to the sun, warming them up before they hunt and play.

​

Lemurs are very vocal and make very distinctive noises. They have lots of different noises and sounds that they make to communicate with their group. They purr, howl, grunt, and even meow.