Gray Mouse Lemur – Small, Furry and Gray
As a member of the lemur family, the gray mouse lemur is only found on the island of Madagascar. Usually found on the western side of the Isle, this species is small and arboreal meaning it lives the most of its life in the trees.
They prefer to live in forested regions and when moving they leap from branch to branch. When they’re foraging, they may be found nearer the ground looking for fallen fruits.
The gray mouse lemur is among the smallest of its genus. They’re between 4-6 inches (10-15 cm) tall with a tail of the same length and they have particularly short limbs, big bright eyes and small incisors. It’s usually covered in a gray fur with a light underside.
It is a solitary lemur and prefers to live alone. It’s also nocturnal and forages for food. During the day they sleep in groups. Interestingly, the males sleep in pairs away from the female groups. The female groups can be made up of larger numbers, up to fifteen.
Their diet consists mainly of insects although they have been known to eat reptiles including chameleons and supplement their diet with leaves, fruit and flowers. They are among the least endangered of the lemur species as they’re very small and they can survive on a varied diet. However, continued deforestation does of course affect the gray mouse lemur and this puts it at the lower end of the risk spectrum of endangered species.
The gray mouse lemur doesn’t hibernate but during the winter months they do go through periods of torpor. Torpor is like hibernation but very short term and is a way of preserving the lemurs’ energies and body heat.
The breeding period of this species is strictly between August and March. Gestation lasts around sixty days and the average litter has between two and three offspring. The young are weaned around thirty days and their sexual maturity differs depending on gender. The males are sexual mature at around 7-29 months whereas females are mature at 10-29 months.
The majority of the species are found in central western Madagascar but they can be found as far south as Sambirano.