Red fronted lemur

Conservation Status: Near threatened

The world's zoo population of this interesting lemur species is very small, and Manor House is one of the very few zoos where you can see them.

Unusually for lemurs, in this species the female is not dominant.

They are 'sexually dichromatic' meaning that males and females have different markings - so it's easy to tell them apart. Both sexes have paleish patches over their eyes, males are greyish brown, while females are reddish brown. The males have a reddish crown, whilst the female sometimes sports a reddish beard!

In the wild, their natural lifespan is between 20 and 25 years. Adaptable too, when food is scarce the Red-fronted lemur will switch from a diet mainly consisting of leaves, with some pods, flowers and bark, to invertebrates and fungi.