A night vision photograph of a family of black-hooded lemurs in nonnative California.
The black-hooded lemur, also known as the common lemur, is a very common species of lemur that is native to much of Madagascar, but has since been introduced to California and Florida due to zoo escapees. It belongs to Lemuridae, one of five lemur families, and is the only member of the Psudolemur genus. It is most closely related to the endangered similar-sized red-ruffed lemur, and it is named due to dark colorations that cover their backs and tops of their heads, giving them the colorations of a hood. It inhabits almost every habitat known in Madagascar, from arid scrublands, to dry forests, to wet swamps, and other kinds of habitats. It is an omnivore, and, along with the briddle-tailed lemur, it is the most omnivorous of the lemurs, that feeds on any kind of food available, including mushrooms, pollen, nectar, fruits, leaves, vegetables, roots, tubers, insects, fish, frogs, small lizards and snakes, small birds, smaller mammals, eggs, and even carrion. White-headed lemurs can be either solitary or social, depending on an individual, with the solitary ones being competitive towards other lemurs for territory, food, etc
Black-Hooded Lemur Sounds
, and more aggressive, while the social ones being more friendlier to other lemurs and share food, territories, etc. They also are very common because of their fast reproductive systems, with gestation periods lasting about 3-3.5 months and are very frequent breeders. Unlike most other lemur species, white-headed lemurs are in no risk of becoming extinct due to their remarkable tolerance to habitat loss. These lemurs also adapt really well into human settlements, making them among the few species of lemur to flourish in human settlements in their native range.
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