Ring-Tailed Lemur
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40 free Ring-Tailed Lemur trivia questions with answers — trivia quiz, new questions added Oct 2026.
The ring-tailed lemur is the most recognisable of Madagascar's primates, and one of the strangest. It has its own way of settling arguments, a morning routine that looks like yoga, and a social order that surprises most people who hear about it. This quiz turns the best fun facts about ring-tailed lemurs into questions: what the striped tail is for, how a troop is run, what the animals eat, how their senses work, where the name comes from and why the species is in trouble in the wild. A few questions cover its film and television fame. Every answer comes with a short explanation, so the set suits curious animal lovers, zoo visitors, teachers planning a lesson on Madagascar and anyone who wants to learn something new in a few minutes.
30 of 40 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01What are the contests called in which male ring-tailed lemurs wave scent-soaked tails at rivals?
Stink fighting
Stink fighting sees two males pull their tails through scent glands, then flick the smelly fur at each other. The stand-off ends when one of them backs down and runs.
Q 02Why do ring-tailed lemurs sit upright each morning with palms open and chests turned toward the sun?
To warm up
Ring-tailed lemurs sunbathe to warm up after chilly nights, soaking up heat through the thinner fur on their undersides. The pose is nicknamed sun worshipping.
Q 03Which members of a ring-tailed lemur troop outrank all the others and get first pick of the food?
The adult females
The adult females dominate every male in the troop, an arrangement that is rare among primates. They enforce their rank by lunging, chasing, cuffing and biting.
Q 04Which ring-tailed lemur sings the party anthem I Like to Move It in the 2005 film Madagascar?
King Julien
King Julien's version is a cover of a 1990s dance hit by Reel 2 Real. The tune went on to become the theme song of the whole franchise.
Q 05Which gymnastic move does a ring-tailed lemur perform to leave its scent high up on a tree trunk?
A handstand
A handstand lets the lemur grip the trunk with its feet and press its rear scent glands against the bark. Both sexes mark this way where the ranges of neighbouring troops overlap.
Q 06Wild ring-tailed lemurs live only on Madagascar, an island off the southeast coast of which continent?
Africa
Africa sits across the Mozambique Channel from Madagascar, the world's fourth-largest island. Lemurs evolved on the island in isolation and are native nowhere else.
Q 07Where does the ring-tailed lemur spend more of its time than any other living lemur species?
On the ground
On the ground is where a ring-tailed lemur troop does most of its travelling, strolling along on all fours. The animals are still agile climbers and spend plenty of time in the canopy.
Q 08The ring-tailed lemur's genus name, Lemur, comes from an ancient Roman word for which supernatural beings?
Ghosts
Ghosts called lemures were driven out of Roman homes during a yearly festival, the Lemuria. The name was first given to slow-moving lorises, then passed to Madagascar's primates.
Q 09The ring-tailed lemur's fur is so thick and dense that it can clog which piece of equipment?
Electric clippers
Electric clippers can jam in the plush coat. The skin underneath is dark all over, even in the places where the fur on top is white.
Q 10How are the ring-tailed lemur's ancestors thought to have crossed the sea to Madagascar millions of years ago?
On floating vegetation
On floating vegetation, a small group of early lemurs is thought to have drifted to the island by accident. Every living lemur species is believed to descend from those castaways.
Q 11Part of the ring-tailed lemur's scientific name points to a likeness to which familiar animal?
A cat
A cat is what the name catta points to. English writers first called the animal a ring-tailed maucauco; the modern name only appeared in the 1790s.
Q 12Whatever the pattern of rings above it, a ring-tailed lemur's tail always ends in a tip of which colour?
Black
Black always finishes the tail, which carries about a dozen dark rings and a dozen white ones. The total roughly matches the number of bones inside the tail.
Q 13Since a ring-tailed lemur's tail cannot grasp, what does the animal mainly use it for besides signalling?
Balance
Balance is the tail's main job when a lemur runs along branches, since it cannot curl around them like a prehensile monkey tail. It is also longer than the animal's head and body combined.
Q 21The ring-tailed lemur is a strepsirrhine, a primate group informally named for which shared feature?
Wet noses
Wet noses, like those of dogs, mark out the lemurs and lorises from monkeys and apes. The moist patch of skin even runs down to split the upper lip.
Q 22Because its upper lip is fixed to the jaw, how must a ring-tailed lemur take in water?
By lapping it
By lapping it with the tongue, the lemur gets around a lip that cannot be pushed forward to suck. One reserve in Madagascar sets out troughs to help troops through droughts.
Q 23Which soft sound does a ring-tailed lemur make to show that it is content?
A purr
A purr is one of the simplest calls in a large repertoire that also includes moans, wails, clicks and yaps. Ring-tailed lemurs are among the most vocal of all primates.
Q 14Which tree, known in Madagascar as kily, can provide half of a ring-tailed lemur's diet in the dry season?
Tamarind
Tamarind fruit and leaves are the lemur's staple, especially through the lean winter months. The animals feed on up to three dozen plant species in all.
Q 15Which sleek carnivore, the largest native to Madagascar, is a leading predator of the ring-tailed lemur?
Fossa
The fossa has been compared to a small cougar, and lemurs make up more than half of its diet. Hawks, buzzards and boas also hunt the ring-tailed lemur.
Q 16In 2014 the IUCN Red List placed the wild ring-tailed lemur in which threat category?
Endangered
Endangered status reflects shrinking forests, hunting and the pet trade. The species still breeds so readily in captivity that it is the most common lemur in the world's zoos.
Q 17What is the main job of the row of fine, forward-pointing lower front teeth in a ring-tailed lemur's jaw?
Grooming fur
Grooming fur with this toothcomb keeps a lemur clean and strengthens bonds within the troop. A thin, fibrous plate under the tongue then cleans the comb itself.
Q 18On which digit does a ring-tailed lemur carry its toilet-claw, a special claw for raking through its coat?
Second toe
The second toe of each foot bears the claw, while the lemur's fingers end in flat nails much like a human's. Nearly all lemurs and lorises share the feature.
Q 19Only male ring-tailed lemurs grow a horny spur over a scent gland on which part of the body?
The wrist
The wrist spur is scraped against tree trunks to cut grooves that hold the male's scent. The behaviour is known as spur-marking.
Q 20The reflective layer behind a ring-tailed lemur's retina, which makes its eyes shine, improves which ability?
Night vision
Night vision gets a boost from the layer, called the tapetum lucidum, which bounces light back through the retina. Human eyes have no such layer.
Q 24Genetic studies suggest the ring-tailed lemur's closest relatives are which members of the genus Hapalemur?
Bamboo lemurs
Bamboo lemurs share forearm scent glands with the ring-tailed lemur, a clue that backed up the DNA evidence. Unlike their long-nosed cousin, they have short snouts.
Q 25Which naturalist gave the ring-tailed lemur its scientific name in the 1758 edition of his Systema Naturae?
Carl Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus put three animals in his new genus, yet only the ring-tailed lemur is still called a lemur. The other two turned out to be a loris and a gliding colugo.
Q 26By which Malagasy name, borrowed by an Indian Ocean clothing brand, is the ring-tailed lemur known locally?
Maky
Maky is the everyday Malagasy word for the animal, written maki in French. The Maki clothing label took the name, though its logo actually shows the face of a different lemur.
Q 27Which primatologist, famed for ring-tailed lemur research, began fieldwork at Berenty Reserve in 1963?
Alison Jolly
Alison Jolly did most of her fieldwork there and later told the reserve's story in her book Lords and Lemurs. She also wrote the Ako series of children's books.
Q 28Where on its mother does a newborn ring-tailed lemur cling before it is old enough to ride on her back?
Her belly
Her belly is the infant's first perch, and after a couple of weeks it climbs round to ride jockey-style. Every member of the troop may help to look after the youngster.
Q 29Which Monty Python star acted beside a ring-tailed lemur in Fierce Creatures and hosted Operation Lemur?
John Cleese
John Cleese gave the takings from the film's London premiere to a project returning ruffed lemurs to the wild. His 1998 documentary followed their release in Madagascar.
Q 30The ring-tailed lemur was chosen as the symbol of the organisation that runs which of Madagascar's assets?
National parks
National parks across the island carry the lemur's image because it is Madagascar's most widely recognised native primate. The agency was formerly known as ANGAP.