Bamboo lemur facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Bamboo lemurs |
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| Golden bamboo lemur (Hapalemur aureus) |
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| Conservation status | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Primates |
| Suborder: | Strepsirrhini |
| Family: | Lemuridae |
| Genus: | Hapalemur I. Geoffrey, 1851 |
| Type species | |
| Lemur griseus |
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| Species | |
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Hapalemur griseus |
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| Combined distribution of Hapalemur | |
| Synonyms | |
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The bamboo lemurs are a special group of lemurs found only on the island of Madagascar. These medium-sized primates are known for their unique diet, which often includes bamboo. They are also sometimes called gentle lemurs.
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What's in a Name?
Bamboo lemurs were first described in 1851 by a French scientist named Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire. He called them Hapalemur. The word Hapale comes from an old Greek word, hapalos, which means "gentle". This is why they were first known as "gentle lemurs".
Later, in the mid-1980s, scientists rediscovered the greater bamboo lemur and then found the golden bamboo lemur in 1987. Since these lemurs eat a lot of bamboo, the name "bamboo lemur" became more popular. By 1994, "bamboo lemur" was the main name used for these amazing animals.
Appearance and Home
Bamboo lemurs usually have soft, grey-brown fur, but the exact color can be a bit different for each species. They have short snouts and round, furry ears. These lemurs are about 26 to 46 centimeters (10 to 18 inches) long. Their tails are usually as long as their bodies, or even longer! They can weigh up to 2.5 kilograms (5.5 pounds).
These lemurs love to live in damp forests where bamboo plants grow. Even though they can be active at any time of day, you might often see them moving around just after the sun comes up. They mostly stay in the trees, but sometimes they come down to the ground.
One special kind, the Lac Alaotra bamboo lemur (also called "bandro"), lives in the reed beds around Lac Alaotra. This lemur spends a lot of time in the water and can swim very well. This is quite unusual for lemurs, as most only go near water to drink.
Family Life
Lesser bamboo lemurs often live in small groups of three to five animals. These groups are probably like families, with a male, one or two females, and their young. They use many different sounds to talk to each other.
Female bamboo lemurs are pregnant for about 135 to 150 days. They usually give birth to one or two babies between September and January. The babies drink their mother's milk for about four months, if there's enough food. They become fully grown when they are about two years old. Bamboo lemurs can live for up to 12 years.
Eating Bamboo (and Cyanide!)
Bamboo lemurs are famous for eating bamboo. But here's a surprising fact: some types of bamboo contain cyanide, which is a poison! For example, the golden bamboo lemur (Hapalemur aureus) likes to eat the growing tips of a bamboo plant called Cephalostachyum viguieri. These tips can have a lot of cyanide in them.
Other bamboo lemurs might eat bamboo with less cyanide, like older bamboo shoots or leaves from different bamboo plants. Scientists are still trying to figure out how these amazing lemurs can eat so much cyanide without getting sick. It's a mystery!
Types of Bamboo Lemurs
There are several different species of bamboo lemurs. Here are the main ones:
- Genus Hapalemur
- Eastern lesser bamboo lemur, H. griseus
- Eastern lesser bamboo lemur, H. g. griseus
- Gilbert's bamboo lemur, H. g. gilberti
- Ranomafana bamboo lemur, H. g. ranomafanensis
- Southern lesser bamboo lemur, H. meridionalis
- Western lesser bamboo lemur, H. occidentalis
- Lac Alaotra bamboo lemur, H. alaotrensis
- Golden bamboo lemur, H. aureus
- Greater bamboo lemur, H. simus
- Eastern lesser bamboo lemur, H. griseus
See also
In Spanish: Lémures del bambú para niños
