Ring-tailed lemurs are strictly herbivores, and feeding takes place both in trees and on the ground. They eat a variety of food including fruit, flowers, and shoots, and they feed from a variety of different tree species. They range far and feed on such varied vegetation as an adaptation to survival in a harsh climate (Haring 2004). Common plant foods include Commicarpus commersonii and Ancyranthes aspera. The kily pods from the huge Tamarindus indica trees are a year round staple food (they eat 2-4 seeds and then drop the rest of the pod). However, the ring-tailed lemurs can live off of basically any plant in the Malagasy forest. Leaves and berries are also eaten frequently (Haring 2004). It was found that ring-tailed lemur home ranges correlate with food abudance and nutritional content in times of environmental stress. In this study, the lemurs chose a diet that maximized water and protein and ranged where fruit was most abundant (Mertl-Millhollen et. al 2003).

Predator-Sensitive Foraging- A study done at the Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve in Madagascar described ringed-tailed lemurs as being "opportunistic foragers", exploiting seasonal resources as they became available. Group members are synchronious in their behavior in that they forage and feed as one unit (Miller 2002).

Ring-tailed lemurs are considered to be 'fruit-flower-shoot' eaters, and live in larger groups with larger home ranges than 'mature-leaf' eaters. An adaptive explanation for this is that for the 'fruit-flower-shoot' eaters such as the ring-tails, food is available in limited quantities for a defined period of time and is clumped. A tree that carries flowers or fruit may do so only for a few days or weeks, and once the flowers/fruits have been eaten there will be no more for long period of time. Trees may carry large quantities of fruits or flowers but may be separated by long distances from another flower/fruit bearing tree. Thus the ring-tailed lemur cannot live in just one tree or even a few trees; they must move from tree to tree as each comes into flower, making it necessary to have a large home range in order to obtain enough food (Jolly 1966).

Photo courtesy of Guenther Eichhorn (gei@cfa.harvard.edu)

Water?

Ring-tailed lemurs lick rain and dew from leaves in the early morning before beginning to feed. Sometimes, during the dry season, they will drink from rivers near bushes for cover. However, many troops with no river frontage in their range seem to live on dew and moisture from food alone, with no other water or need to drink (Haring 2004).