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The common brown lemur is a medium-sized lemur, weighing
between 2-3kg (about 4-8 pounds) with a total body length of
roughly one meter. They are the only brown lemur to
exhibit no sexual dichromatism; both males and females are
similar in color, being brown to grayish brown, with a blackish
face (Garbutt 1999; Mittermeier et al. 2006). Rasmussen
(1999 cited in Mittermeier et al. 2006) noted that the common
brown lemur is active during the day throughout the entire year,
but also shows increased levels of nocturnal activity during the
dry season.
This lemur is found in multi-male, multi-female groups, which
can vary in size from 3 to 12 individuals, with home ranges of
up to 20 ha in size. They are fugivorous/folivorous
mammals, feeding mainly on fruit, leaves and flowers (Garbutt
1999; Mittermeier et al. 2006), though there have been reports
of E. fulvus feeding on birds (Mizuta 2002 cited in Nakamura
2004), as well as eggs (Nakamura 2004). In Madagascar, breeding
occurs in May and June, with births occurring in September and
October after approximately 120 days (Garbutt 1999).
Geographically, E. fulvus populations can be found in
east-central rainforest habitats north of the Mangoro River, as
well as two distinct populations in north-west dry deciduous
forests of Madagascar (Garbutt 1999). Like many other
lemurs, their survival is threatened by habitat loss due to
slash-and-burn agriculture and hunting, and the IUCN Red List
currently rates them as Vulnerable (VU A2cd). They do
however occur in four national parks and nine reserves (Mittermeier
et al. 2006).
Here at the reserve, we currently house one adult pair and
their male offspring, and they are fed a variety of fruits and
vegetables, as well as a manufactured primate biscuit. In
addition to their daily diets, they also enjoy numerous local
plants as browse, such as wax myrtle and gallberry, as well as
pinecones stuffed with berries that we hang from the roof of
their enclosure as enrichment. In 2006, we received these
animals after they were confiscated by officials for
mistreatment by a private owner. They were housed in
rabbit-hutches, which caused our male’s left leg muscles to
atrophy permanently leaving him with a pronounced limp, and the
inability to fully extend his leg. The female was bred
yearly, and her infants were taken away and sold within the pet
trade at a very young age. Her two-year-old son is the
only offspring she has ever been able to fully raise on her own.
It is not our policy however, to ‘rescue’ animals. We are
not a rehabilitation center, but a conservation and research
institution, but an exception was made for these three, as brown
lemurs are our special focus, and having a population of this
species here at the reserve is important for behavioral research
purposes.
Works Cited:
Freed BZ. 1996. Co-occurrence among crowned lemurs (Lemur
coronatus) and Sanford’s lemurs (Lemur fulvus sanfordi) of
Madagascar [PhD. Dissertation]. Saint Louis: Washington
University. 420 p.
Garbutt N. 1999. Mammals of Madagascar. New Haven and London:
Yale University Press. 320 p.
Golden C. 2005. Eaten to endangerment: Mammal hunting and the
bushmeat trade in Madagascar’s Makira Forest. [Undergraduate
thesis]. Harvard University.
Traber S, Müller A. 2006. A note on the activity cycle of
captive white-fronted lemurs (Eulemur fulvus albifrons). Folia
Primatologica 77(1-2):139-142.
Mittermeier R, Konstant W, Hawkins F, Louis E, Langrand O,
Ratsimbazafy J, Rasoloarison R, Ganzhorn J, Rajaobelina S,
Tattersall I, Meyers D. 2006. Lemurs of Madagascar. Washington
D.C.: Conservation International. 520 p.
Mizuta T. 2002. Predation by Eulemur fulvus fulvus on a
nestling of Terpsiphone mutate (Aves: Monarchidae) in dry forest
in north-western Madagascar. Folia Primatologica 73:217-219.
Nakamura M. 2004. Predation by Eulemur fulvus fulvus on eggs
of Ploceus sakalava sakalava (Aves: Ploceidae) in
Ankarafantsika, Madagascar. Folia Primatologica 75:376-378.
Rakotondratsima M, Kremen C. 2001. Suivi écologique de deux
espèces de lémuriens diurnes Varecia variegate rubra et Eulemur
fulvus albifrons dans la presqu’île de Masoala (1993-1998).
Lemur News 6:31-35.
Rasmussen M. 1999. Ecological influences on the activity
cycle in two cathemeral primates: The mongoose lemur (Eulemur
mongoz) and the common brown lemur (Eulemur fulvus fulvus).
[PhD. Dissertation]. Durham: Duke University.
Vasey N. 1997. Community ecology and behavior of Varecia
variegate rubra and Lemur fulvus albifrons on the Masoala
Peninsula, Madagascar. [PhD. Dissertation]. Saint Louis:
Washington University.
Vasey N. 2004. Circadian rhythms in diet and habitat use in
red ruffed lemurs (Varecia rubra) and white-fronted brown lemurs
(Eulemur fulvus albifrons). American Journal of Physical
Anthropology 124:353-363.
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