Introduction to Lemurs: King Julien and the Gang!

I like to move it move it, I like to MOVE IT! Yes, you heard that right. The almighty King Julien apparently just likes to move it with his fellow lemurs. Lemurs can only be found in Madagascar due to the fact that they do not have any predators on the island – isolation (Briggs 2018).

King Julien’s kingdom is located approximately 402 kilometers off the coast of southeast Africa. It is without a doubt one of the most geographically diverse places on the planet. With that being said, Lemur is one of the most unique and endangered animals in the world.

Lemurs are primates. This means that we are very distantly related to lemurs! Just genetically though, do not get your hopes up. Lemurs are nocturnal, insectivorous creatures (creatures that eats insects) with small bodies, long noses, and large eyes. In fact, there are eighty-eight species of lemurs exist today, where all these species originate from Madagascar. Let us look into a few different of the lemur species:

Starting with King Julien:

King Julien was inspired by the ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta). In fact, they are the most intensely studied and also the most easily recognizable species of lemur. Unfortunately, the habitats (in other parts of Madagascar) of ring-tailed lemur are shrinking at an alarming rate. The species of King Julien live in the south and southwest of Madagascar. Not only that, but they are also very social animals.

Let’s look at the character that does not like King Julien but loves him, Mort:

Mort was inspired by the mouse lemur (Microcebus). There are more than 20 species of mouse lemurs: gray mouse lemurs, pygmy mouse lemur and many more. Why is it called a mouse lemur? It is called a mouse lemur due to its relatively small size and appearance that resembles a mouse. In fact, it can be as small as a teacup and as long as 25 cm! These lemurs spend most of their time in trees and could move easily from tree to tree and branch to branch. Mouse lemurs mainly feast on flowers, fruit nectar, buds and leaves as well as small insects.

The species of Mort are protected from hunting. However, they are becoming protected and endangered due to the loss of the limited woodland habitat of their Madagascar home.

The female lemur in Madagascar, Clover:

Clover is a crowned lemur (Eulemur coranatus) and mostly eats flowers, fruit, and leaves. Clover species are named for the triangular, crown-like patch of fur on their foreheads. Looking at the figure above, the males are generally much darker reddish-brown with a larger gray or orange crown whereas the females are gray with a brown or orange crown – sexually dichromatic.

The sad part about crowned lemur is that they can only be found in the Ankarana Reserve in the rainforests of Montagne d’Ambre in the North of Madagascar.

Finally, the scary looking one, Maurice:

Maurice is an aye aye maki, also known as the finger animal. It is named as a finger animal because of its long, narrow fingers and toes with claw-like nails. The finger animal lives at night – a nocturnal animal. During the day, the finger animal prefers to sleep high in the tree. This species feasts on larvae which can be found at the bark of the tree.

Maurice species can be found in the rainforests and plantations on the east side of Madagascar.

References:

Briggs, H 2018, ‘New perspective on how lemurs got to Madagascar’, BBC News, 21 August, viewed <https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-45250302>.

‘Crowned Lemur - Duke Lemur Center’ 2017, Duke Lemur Center, viewed <https://lemur.duke.edu/discover/meet-the-lemurs/crowned-lemur/>.

Duke Lemur Center 2013, ‘Ring-tailed Lemur - Duke Lemur Center’, Duke Lemur Center, viewed <https://lemur.duke.edu/discover/meet-the-lemurs/ring-tailed-lemur>.

https://www.howstuffworks.com/hsw-contact.htm 2008, ‘Why Do Lemurs Live Only in Madagascar?’, HowStuffWorks, viewed <https://animals.howstuffworks.com/mammals/lemurs-live-in-madagascar.htm>.

Kiger, PJ 2020, ‘10 Wild Facts About the Aye-Aye, a Most Improbable Animal’, HowStuffWorks, viewed <https://animals.howstuffworks.com/endangered-species/aye-aye.htm>.

‘Mouse Lemurs | National Geographic’ 2010, Animals, viewed <https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/mouse-lemurs>.

Vyawahare, M 2020, ‘A third of Madagascar’s lemur species on the brink of extinction, IUCN warns’, Mongabay Environmental News, viewed 24 September 2023, <https://news.mongabay.com/2020/07/a-third-of-madagascars-lemur-species-on-the-brink-of-extinction-iucn-warns/#:~:text=Almost%20all%20of%20the%20107>.