Lepilemur mustelinus
weasel sportive lemur

Sportive lemurs, Lepilemur mustelinus, live in the deciduous forests of the East and West coasts of Madagascar (Macdonald, 1984; Grzimek, 1990). (Grzimek, 1990; Macdonald, 1984)

Sportive lemurs live in the deciduous, humid, and gallery forests of Madagascar. They sleep during the day in tree hollows or occasionally in nests in the open when there is little threat from predators (Macdonald, 1984; Richard, 1987). (Macdonald, 1984; Richard, 1987)

Sportive lemurs measure about 24 to 30 cm for head and body length, with a tail of about 22 to 29 cm. Typically, members of the genus weigh between 500 and 900 g. The tail is always shorter than the body, and the legs are always much longer than the arms. There are six recognized subspecies and fur coloration differs between populations. However, in general sportive lemurs are brown to grey on their backs and tails with a light to white underbelly. They have dense, woolly fur, and prominent ears. Their dental formula is 0/2, 1/1, 3/3, 3/3 = 32 (Macdonald, 1984). (Macdonald, 1984)

Members of the genus Lepilemur are reported to have lived as long as 12 years in captivity. Lepilemur mustelinus is probably similar. (Nowak, 1999)

Lepilemur mustelinus is both arboreal and nocturnal. These lemurs move from tree to tree by leaping vertically beween tree trunks or vertical branches. They leap an average of five meters. When travelling on the ground, sportive lemurs can walk on all four feet or can leap on their hind legs. Although most of their activities are solitary, sportive lemurs sometimes gather in large groups before going out to feed alone. Occasionally a male-female pair will meet to feed, rest, or groom together but they rarely stay together for more than an hour at a time (Richard, 1987). (Richard, 1987)

Home Range

In Lepilemur leucopus, another member of the genus, home ranges of females measure 0.18 hectares, and those of males measure 0.30 hectares. Home ranges of L. mustelinus are probably comparable. (Nowak, 1999)

Visual displays, vocalizations, chases, and severe fighting have all been reported for this genus. Although not reported for these animals, prosimians usually scent mark their territories, and it is reasonable to suppose that L. mustelinus engages in some scent marking and chemical communication. (Nowak, 1999)

The diet of L. mustelinus is primarily leaves. However, these animals also eat fruit, flowers, and bark. Sportive lemurs may not be capable of completely digesting this folivorous diet and they have been known to eat their own feces, perhaps in order to extract more nutrients from the food on its second journey through their digestive tract. Sportive lemurs do not pick leaves or fruit from branches when feeding, but instead they bring branches to their mouths and feed directly from them (Grzimek, 1990; Richard, 1987). (Grzimek, 1990; Richard, 1987)

These small nocturnal primates probably fall prey to raptors, snakes, fossas, and any other carnivorous animal large enough to subdue them. Humans are reported to hunt members of this genus for meat. (Nowak, 1999)

As frugivores, these primates probably help to disperse seeds. To the extent that they serve as prey for other animals, they may impact local food webs.

There are no known negative effects of sportive lemurs on humans.

Sportive lemurs are sometimes hunted for their meat (Grzimek, 1990). (Grzimek, 1990)

Lepilemur mustelinus is considered threatened due to habitat destruction and the breakdown of anti-hunting rules (Richard, 1987).

Due to human introduction of farming and domesticated animals on Madagascar, many species of lemurs have become extinct. Therefore, it is important to remember that no animals of Madagascar, including sportive lemurs, are members of intact ecological communities (Richard, 1987).