Eastern Woolly Lemur

Eastern Woolly Lemur

Eastern avahi, Gmelin's woolly lemur

Kingdom
Phylum
Subphylum
Class
Order
Suborder
Superfamily
Family
Genus
SPECIES
Avahi laniger
Population size
Unknown
Life Span
10 years
Weight
1-13
2.2-28.6
kglbs
kg lbs 
Length
27-29
10.6-11.4
cminch
cm inch 

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.

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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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No

Nocturnal

He

Herbivore

Fo

Folivore

Fr

Frugivore

Ar

Arboreal

Al

Altricial

Br

Browsing

Is

Island endemic

Te

Terrestrial

Te

Territorial

Mo

Monogamy

So

Social

No

Not a migrant

E

starts with

Appearance

Eastern 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.

Video

Distribution

Geography

Continents
Subcontinents
Countries
Biogeographical realms

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 Lemur habitat map

Climate zones

Eastern Woolly Lemur habitat map

Habits and Lifestyle

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.

Group name
Seasonal behavior

Diet and Nutrition

Eastern woolly lemurs are herbivorous (folivorous, frugivorous) animals. Their diet consists mainly of leaves and buds with fruits, flowers, and bark.

Mating Habits

MATING BEHAVIOR
REPRODUCTION SEASON
March-May
PREGNANCY DURATION
135 days
BABY CARRYING
1 infant
INDEPENDENT AGE
1 year
BABY NAME
infant

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.

Population

Population threats

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.

Population number

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.

References

1. Eastern Woolly Lemur on Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_woolly_lemur
2. Eastern Woolly Lemur on The IUCN Red List site - https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/2434/16114949

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