Plan You Visit
Find out how to make the most of your trip and book tickets here.
Book a Hotel!
Find the perfect place to stay during your visit to Edinburgh and the Zoo!
How you can help
The natural world needs our help...and we need yours! Please consider making a donation to support our conservation, education and research work, both within our parks and across the world.
| Common Name: | Mongoose lemur | Family: | Lemuridae |
| Latin Name: | Eulemur mongoz | Diet: | Frugivore |
| Type: | Mammal | Habitat: | Tropical Rainforest |
| Native To: | Africa | Social Unit: | Group |
| IUCN Red List Status: | Vulnerable |
Mongoose lemurs at Edinburgh Zoo
Edinburgh Zoo has two mongoose lemurs, which came to us from Colchester Zoo in November 2009. They were both born in April 1999. The male is called Platon and the female is called Amber.
Where it can be found at Edinburgh Zoo
Although they have separate indoor enclosures, the mongoose lemurs share the large outside area with our red-bellied lemurs and our Sclater's lemurs. The enclosure is in the middle of the park, just to the southeast of the Mansion House.
Mongoose lemurs in the wild
Mongoose lemurs (Eulemur mongoz) can be found in the dry tropical forests in the northwest of Madagascar and on the Comoros Islands of Moheli and Anjouan. They were introduced to these small islands that lie between Madagascar and Africa.
Males have red furry cheeks while the females have white cheeks. Both have orange coloured eyes. They are a cathemeral species, meaning that they are active in bursts during daytime and nighttime. These bursts of activity are often governed by season and availability of food.
A troop of mongoose lemurs consists of an adult breeding pair and their young of varying ages. The adult female leads the group, deciding on where they feed and sleep. However it is the adult male who marks the group’s territory with scent from the glands on the top of his head. The range of each troop is quite small and if they encounter a neighbouring group they can become aggressive, giving warning calls and charging at each other.
The diet of the mongoose lemur changes according to season. During the wet season they forage for fruits, flowers, leaves and nectar through the day. In the dry season they feed at night when it is cooler. Beetles and grubs make up the rest of their diet.
The main threat to the mongoose lemur both in Madagascar and the Comoros Islands is habitat loss. The forests in which they live are being cleared for agricultural land and for the logging and charcoal trade. Because of these threats, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classified this species as Vulnerable. This means that mongoose lemurs are considered to be facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.
Breeding programme category:
IUCN Red List category: Vulnerable
View our other animal profiles: