Eastern avahi, Gmelin's woolly lemur
The eastern woolly lemur (Avahi laniger ), also known as the eastern avahi or Gmelin's woolly lemur, is a species of woolly lemur native to eastern Madagascar, where it lives in the wet tropical rainforest at low elevations along the eastern coast of the island or they can also inhabit the northern tip of the island with other species. The woolly lemur name refers to their thick, tightly curled hair, whereas their generic name avahi refers to their high-pitched defensive call. The eastern woolly lemur almost has an owl-look with its large eyes, small rounded head, and ears that are mostly hidden. This nocturnal animal weighs 1.0–1.3 kg and reaches a length of 27–29 cm with a tail of 33–37 cm. Its diet consists mainly of leaves and buds with fruits, flowers, and bark.
Eastern woolly lemurs live in monogamous pairs together with their offspring. The eastern woolly lemur's breeding season ranges from March to May with the baby lemurs being born around August to September.
Other lemur species that live in the same rainforests as eastern woolly lemur are the diademed sifaka (Propithecus diadema ) and the red-bellied lemur (Eulemur rubriventer ). In southeastern rainforests, sympatric lemur species of A. meridionalis are the brown mouse lemur (Microcebus rufus ), the greater dwarf lemur (Cheirogaleus major ), the fat-tailed dwarf lemur (Cheirogaleus medius ) and the collared brown lemur (Eulemur collaris ) in Sainte Luce Forest, and the southern lesser bamboo lemur (Hapalemur meridionalis ) in Mandena Forest.
According to the study conducted in "Diet and Behaviour of a Nocturnal Lemur, Avahi Laniger, in the Wild" (1991), a male lemur rarely interacts with more than one other individual when sleeping, traveling or grooming. At night, he would spend about 40% of the time with his partner either grooming or resting.
As of right now, the Eastern Woolly Lemurs still continue to exist; however, based on another study conducted in "Distribution and Geographic Variation in the Western Woolly Lemur" (YEAR), it is revealed that the entire Lemur population might be endangered if the forests continues to "disappear at a disastrous rate". This could be due to many reasons, for example deforestation and forest degradation.
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NocturnalNocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal",...
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HerbivoreA herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example, foliage, for the main component of its die...
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FolivoreIn zoology, a folivore is a herbivore that specializes in eating leaves. Mature leaves contain a high proportion of hard-to-digest cellulose, less ...
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FrugivoreA frugivore is an animal that thrives mostly on raw fruits or succulent fruit-like produce of plants such as roots, shoots, nuts, and seeds. Approx...
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ArborealArboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some anima...
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AltricialAltricial animals are those species whose newly hatched or born young are relatively immobile. They lack hair or down, are not able to obtain food ...
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BrowsingBrowsing is a type of herbivory in which an herbivore (or, more narrowly defined, a folivore) feeds on leaves, soft shoots, or fruits of high-growi...
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Island endemicIsland endemic animals are found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island. Animals or organisms that are indigenous to a place ar...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
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TerritorialA territory is a sociographical area that which an animal consistently defends against the conspecific competition (or, occasionally, against anima...
Among animals, viviparity is the development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. The term 'viviparity' and its adjective form 'viviparous'...
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MonogamyMonogamy is a form of relationship in which both the male and the female has only one partner. This pair may cohabitate in an area or territory for...
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Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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starts withEastern woolly lemurs have an owl-look with their large eyes, small rounded head, and ears that are mostly hidden. The color of their coat is grey-brown or reddish-brown and varies within the species. Their hands, legs, and feet are white and their tail is reddish-orange. The woolly lemur name refers to their thick, tightly-curled hair, and the generic name of these animals "avahi" refers to their high-pitched defensive call.
Eastern woolly lemurs are native to eastern Madagascar. They live in the wet tropical rainforest along the eastern coast of the island and they can also inhabit the northern tip of the island with other species.
Eastern woolly lemurs are nocturnal creatures. During the day they spend long periods of time sleeping in trees. They prefer sleeping closer to the ground huddling each other. Eastern woolly lemurs are very social and form close and long-lasting bonds. These animals are arboreal. Sometimes they may be seen leaping from one tree to another. When on the ground, they stand erect and leap holding their arms up in the air. In order to communicate with each other Easten woolly lemurs use sounds, touches and body postures.
Eastern woolly lemurs are herbivorous (folivorous, frugivorous) animals. Their diet consists mainly of leaves and buds with fruits, flowers, and bark.
Eastern woolly lemurs are monogamous where pairs mate for life. Couples live together and raise their young. The breeding season ranges from March to May and baby lemurs are born around August to September. Females give birth to a single baby after the gestation period that lasts around 135 days. The baby stays with its mother and nurses around 6 months. During the first 2 months after birth, the mother carries her baby on the front side. Later the young will move to the back and begin to slowly venture away from the mother. At one year of age infants become independent, however, they still stay around their mother.
Eastern woolly lemurs are threatened by the destruction of their habitat due to logging and slash-and-burn agriculture. They are also sometimes captured at their sleeping sites or in traps, and in some places are pursued by hunters. Each year in Makira 2,500-3,000 Eastern woolly lemurs suffer from hunting.
The IUCN Red List and other sources don’t provide the number of the Eastern woolly lemur total population size. Currently, this species is classified as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List and its numbers today are decreasing.
Social animals are those animals that interact highly with other animals, usually of their own species (conspecifics), to the point of having a rec...