Lemurs are one of the most adorable animals in the animal kingdom.
They are cute, and fun - lemurs are so full of energy, that it makes them fun to watch in things like wildlife documentaries. Lemurs are also known for their cute way of jumping, which is sometimes known as the 'lemur dance'.
There are many things which make these cute animals adorable and fun. Lemurs are a joy and one of the natural worlds most unique animals. There is much to love about lemurs. There are also many interesting facts about them.
Let's look at the top 10 interesting facts about lemurs!
10 Lemur Walk
The way lemurs walk is one of the cutest things that you will see in the animal kingdom. They don't just walk - they walk with a cute hop.
Their hop, or walk, as they move from place to place on the ground, is also known as the lemur dance. This type of lemur dance is not something that you see other animals do, and seems to be a unique characteristic of lemurs.
9 Lemur Feet and Toes
A lemurs feet and toes are hard to see when they are doing the lemur walk.
This is because, when they are doing their walk, they move so fast and it's hard to spot their feet and toes when they walk. But, if you take a closer look at lemurs, you will notice that their feet and toes are long. There are many different species of lemurs, therefore, the look of their toes and feet are a bit different from species to species. But like humans, they generally have five toes on each feet.
8 Smallest Lemur
The world has many different species of lemurs.
The smallest lemur species in the world (which you can see from the picture above), is an adorable species of lemur called the Madame Berthe's Mouse Lemur. These lemurs are tiny. Sadly, their population is also tiny, as the Madame Berthe's Mouse Lemur is critically endangered today, and therefore, vulnerable to extinction.
7 Lemur Species
Each lemur species is unique, and, there are many different lemur species.
There are many different lemur species in the world today. It is estimated that there are 111 different species of lemurs in the world today. However, the number of species of lemurs could be higher, as lemur species are still being found in the wild today that we did not know about. For example, a new mouse lemur was found just July last year. It is incredible that we are still finding new species of lemurs, and perhaps (most likely), that there are other species of lemur out there that we do not know about yet. Hopefully, we will find more species of lemur in the future!
6 Their Name
Many of the lemur species in the world are active during the day.
Lemurs are also nocturnal, and venture out at nighttime. The nighttime lemurs look cool and mysterious. The name 'lemur' seems to be chosen because of the nocturnal nature of some of these cute animals. The meaning of 'lemures' in latin translates to 'spirits of the night', which is a cool way to describe nocturnal lemurs.
5 Geography
Lemurs are very unique to the island of Madagascar.
The only place that lemurs are found in the wild in the world is on the island of Madagascar and the Comoro Islands which are near Madagascar. Otherwise, lemurs are found nowhere else in the world, and therefore, preserving their forest home on both Madagascar and the Comoro Islands is essential for the survival of these species, now, and for future generations.
4 National Animals
There are many different species of lemurs, but only one is a national animal.
The species of lemur which is a country's national animal is called the Ring-Tailed Lemur. The Ring-Tailed Lemur is the national animal of Madagascar. Sadly, the Ring-Tailed Lemur is an endangered species today and at risk of extinction. The good news is that Ring-Tailed Lemurs are found in some protected places in the South of Madagascar, hopefully this can result in these lemurs making a comeback.
3 Aye-Ayes
Aye-Ayes are an adorable animal, and, uniquely cute.
They may look a bit different to other species of lemurs, but, Aye-Ayes too, are lemurs. These cute animals are also part of the lemur family. Aye-ayes are unique to the animal kingdom, as they are the world's largest lemur species today. Sadly, Aye-Ayes seem to be misunderstood, as these cute lemurs are persecuted in the wild. This has led to the Aye-Aye to become an endangered species today.
Aye-Ayes deserve the same love and protection as other lemur species.
2 Blue-Eyed Lemur
Seeing animals with blue eyes is quite unusual, as most animals don't seem to have blue eyes. However, there are some expectations were a few animals are found with blue eyes. This includes the Blue-Eyed Black Lemur.
The male Blue-Eyed Black Lemur and the female one look a bit different. The female Blue-Eyed Black Lemur can be seen in the picture above - they have brown hair and blue eyes. Whereas, the male Blue-Eyed Black Lemur has beautiful black fur and blue eyes. A picture of the male Blue-Eyed Black Lemur can be seen below.
1 Sloth Lemurs
There are species of lemurs that once existed in the world that are now extinct, this includes a species of lemur known as the 'Sloth Lemur'.
Their name 'sloth lemur' seems to have been given to them because sloth lemurs were similar in behaviour and looks to the sloths that we find living today. Sloth lemurs went extinct just shortly after humans arrived on the island of Madagascar.
Sloth lemurs belonged to a group of lemurs called 'giant lemurs'. There is evidence that sloth lemurs existed in Madagascar, both due to fossil remains of this species, and due to art that has been found in caves of sloth lemurs.
And, some lemur cuteness to make you smile...
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