A medium-sized lemur found only in the rainforests of north-eastern Madagascar. It spends almost all its time in the trees, usually in the upper canopy, moving on all fours along branches and making confident leaps between them. Males and females are easy to tell apart once you know what to look for. Males have grey-brown bodies, darker limbs and tail, grey head and face, and a darker crown, plus big, bushy white cheeks and beard that give them a very “wise old man” look. Females are redder-brown on top, with paler undersides, darker feet, and less bushy, more reddish cheek fur; their heads and faces are dark grey without the fluffy white beard.

Unlike many other lemurs, females are not clearly dominant over males in this species, so their social life is a bit more balanced. Group members keep in touch with a mix of calls, scent marking, and grooming. Like other lemurs, they have a “tooth comb” of forward-tilted lower front teeth that they use to comb each other’s fur, removing dirt and parasites and strengthening social bonds at the same time.

Their diet is very flexible and changes with the seasons and with the females’ breeding cycle. White-headed lemurs are omnivores, eating lots of fruit but also mature and young leaves, flowers, bark, sap, soil, and invertebrates like insects, centipedes, and millipedes. During pregnancy, males and females both eat more flowers; during lactation, they increase flowers and young leaves; in non-breeding periods, they fall back on tougher mature leaves and “extras” like millipedes.

As heavy fruit-eaters, they are important seed spreaders: seeds that survive the trip through their gut are dropped in their dung, helping forest plants colonize new patches. Young are usually born once a year; for the first three weeks, a baby clings to its mother’s belly, then rides on her back, starts tasting whatever the group is eating, and is weaned at around four months.

Distribution

Country

Population est.

Status

Year

Comments

Madagascar

VU

2018