Collared Lemur (Eulemur collaris) Fact Sheet: Diet & Feeding

• Primarily eat fruit (from Donati et al. 2007a unless otherwise noted)
• Prefer ripe fruits
• Unripe fruits make up significantly smaller portions of the diet
• c. 4-5 % of total consumption (Donati et al. 2007a; Donati et al. 2011a)
• Dietary diversity
• Diet varied; includes as many as 120 plant species
• Species representative of 45 families
• Time of day influences dietary intake
• Certain food items eaten only in daylight or at night
• Individuals tend to feed in lower forest layers in daytime
• Exploit the upper canopy and emergent trees more often at night
• Water content in food is high
• Water accounts for c. 73% of fresh weight in all food items
• Other food sources (from Donati et al. 2007a unless otherwise noted)
• Flowers
• Consistently taken throughout the year
• Accounts for c. 14% of dietary intake; proportionally greater in some seasons (Campera et al. 2014; Donati et al. 2007a)
• Leaves
• Invertebrates
• Intake minimal throughout the year
• Typically accounts for <3% of total consumption each month
• Important plant species
• Species targeted for fruit
• Uapaca ferruginea and U. littoralis (Donati et al. 2007a; Donati et al. 2011a)
• Syzigium spp (Donati et al. 2007a)
• Canarium boivinii (Donati et al. 2011a)
• Olea sp. (Donati et al. 2011a)
• Species targeted for leaves and/or flowers
• Cynometra cloiselii (flowers, fruit, leaves) (Donati et al. 2007a; Donati et al. 2011a)
• Ravenala madagascariensis (flowers) (Donati et al. 2007a; Donati et al. 2011a)
• Brexia madagascariensis (flowers) (Campera et al. 2014; Donati et al. 2011a)

Elevenses. Collared lemur eating at the Cotswold Wildlife Park, Madagascan Walkthrough. Image credit: © Stuart Richards at Flickr. Some rights reserved.