- [Narrator] This is Taries — a Ring-Tailed Lemur.
He is quite the character.
Of the 100 or so species of lemurs in Madagascar,
the Ring-Tailed Lemur is easily the most iconic
because of its black and white ringed tail.
They're mostly vegetarian feeding on fruit, leaves,
flowers, bark and the occasional insect or lizard
that they find in the desert scrubland and woods
of southwestern Madagascar.
They're more social than most lemurs
with as many as 24 members in a group.
When traveling together they keep their tails
raised in the air like flags in order to make sure
no one gets lost.
Unfortunately, they have to travel farther
to find suitable habitats.
The habitats they prefer to call home
are being rapidly destroyed
by expanding farmland, overgrazing from livestock,
and charcoal harvesting.
While conservation has battled for the lemurs survival,
there's hope.
Ring-Tailed Lemurs breed very successfully in captivity
and there are over 1,000 individuals
at 140 zoos around the world.
This is the Ring-Tailed Lemur.
(steady chime music)