The Birth of Wild Ring-tailed Lemurs at Berenty Reserve, Madagascar

This study describes five cases of female behavior at parturition in ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) at Berenty Reserve, Madagascar. The five cases were observed and video-recorded in August 1995 and August to September 1996. Previously there was only one descriptive report on the birth of this spe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPrimate Research Vol. 14; no. 1; pp. 25 - 34
Main Author OKAMOTO, Megumi
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Primate Society of Japan 1998
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Summary:This study describes five cases of female behavior at parturition in ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) at Berenty Reserve, Madagascar. The five cases were observed and video-recorded in August 1995 and August to September 1996. Previously there was only one descriptive report on the birth of this species (Sauther, 1991). This is the second report. All the cases were observed in daytime. The baby was born on the tree in four cases, while one case was observed on the ground. The mothers continued contractions, sitting and stretched their body before birth. After birth, the mothers licked the infant, chewed the umbilical cord, and ate the placenta quickly after issued. In some cases, the troop members moved away from them, and there were little interactions between the mothers and the other individuals, because of the mothers concentrated on taking care of newborn infant.
ISSN:0912-4047
1880-2117
DOI:10.2354/psj.14.25