What Do Lemurs Eat
Lemurs are a group of primates only found on the island of Madagascar. There are about 100 species of lemurs, which range from a 30g (1.1 oz) through to 9kg (20 lbs). Many of these species are considered to be endangered due to hunting and habitat loss. Fortunately, the lemur’s food sources of food remain widely available on the island. Let’s take a closer look at the diet of the lemur.
What do lemurs eat?
The diet of the lemur varies somewhat between the different species. Generally speaking, the smallest species are omnivores and eat fruit and insects. The larger species are mostly herbivores and eat plant matter. Most species have a few preferred foods, but the lemur will resort to eating any edible matter if these are not available. Lemurs are known to eat more than half of the plants on the island but they rarely eat ferns and mangroves, which are some the most abundant plants on the island.
Did you know?
Some of the more unusual food sources of lemurs includes; flowers, bark, tree sap, nectar, pollen, seeds, insect secretions, small vertebrates, and even soil.
The golden bamboo lemur is a species of lemur that eats giant bamboo even though it contains high levels of the poison cyanide. This species has adapted so that it consume 12 times the usual lethal dose of this poison.
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