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A black-and-white ruffed lemur with golden eyes resting on a branch.
Photo: Chensiyuan, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Black-and-White Ruffed Lemur

Varecia variegata

The largest lemur, a critically endangered fruit-eater of eastern Madagascar's rainforests that raises its babies in nests.

🐒 Lemurs
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About the Black-and-White Ruffed Lemur

Black-and-white ruffed lemurs live high in the rainforest of eastern Madagascar, often in the tallest trees. They weigh 8 to 11 pounds and have tails about 2 feet long that help them balance. They eat mostly fruit, plus leaves, flowers, nectar and seeds. Grasping fingers and toes help them climb, and they can even hang upside down by their feet.[1]

Quick facts

Scientific name
Varecia variegata[1][2]
Size
Tail about 2 feet long.[1]
Weight
8 to 11 pounds.[1]
Lifespan
15 to 20 years in the wild.[1]
Diet
Mostly fruit, plus leaves, flowers, nectar and seeds.[1]
Habitat
The middle and upper canopy of the rainforest.[1]
Where it lives
Eastern Madagascar.[1]
Group life
From a single pair and their young up to groups of 8 to 16.[1]
Babies
Pregnancy lasts up to three months. Twins and triplets are most common, raised in a nest.[1]
Conservation status
Critically Endangered (IUCN Red List, assessed 2019).[2]

Fun facts

  • Ruffed lemurs are the largest living lemurs.[1]
  • A ruffed lemur mother carries her babies in her mouth.[1]
  • Some ruffed lemurs see colors like we do, and some don't.[1]
  • Lemurs' ancestors may have reached Madagascar about 40 million years ago by floating on trees.[1]

Vocabulary

lemur
A primate found in the wild only on Madagascar.
canopy
The top layer of a forest, made of treetops.
seed dispersal
How seeds get carried to new places, like when an animal eats fruit and drops the seeds.
prehensile
Able to grab or wrap around things. A ruffed lemur's tail is not prehensile.
critically endangered
A conservation label meaning a species faces an extremely high risk of dying out in the wild.

See it in person

Sources

  1. [1] Zoo Atlanta. “Black-and-white-ruffed Lemur.” https://zooatlanta.org/animal/black-and-white-ruffed-lemur/ (accessed 2026-10-02)
  2. [2] IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. “Varecia variegata (Black-and-white Ruffed Lemur).” https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22918/115574178 (accessed 2026-10-02)

Facts last checked 2026-10-02.

More Lemurs

A crowned lemur peering out from between tree trunks.Crowned LemurEulemur coronatusA small, fruit-eating lemur of northern Madagascar whose males and females look so different they were once easy to tell apart at a glance.A ring-tailed lemur drinking from a pond with its black-and-white striped tail raised.Ring-Tailed LemurLemur cattaAn endangered primate of southwestern Madagascar with a black-and-white striped tail, female-led troops and a love of sunbathing.