Quick Take
- Living at the top of the forest sounds idyllic, but that changes once you learn what it forces lemurs to do every single morning. See the treetop tradeoff →
- The pose red ruffed lemurs strike while sunbathing has earned them an unexpected nickname, and seeing it makes the name instantly obvious. Meet the sun worshipper →
- Not all lemurs warm up the same way, and the alternative method some species use is surprisingly social. Discover social warming methods →
- Sunbathing in lemurs is not a leisure choice. It is a precise biological strategy with a specific name. Explore behavioral thermoregulation →
One of the best parts of summer is spending time under the warm sun. While we may go to beaches or the pool to do this, animals in nature also enjoy this activity. One example is lemurs, which use the sun to warm up. This Instagram post by @wild_animalsgram shows a video of red ruffed lemurs sunbathing.
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Red ruffed lemurs are arboreal animals that spend their time in the canopies of forests.
©Dirk Daniel Mann/Shutterstock.com
Why Lemurs Sunbathe
The video above shows the red ruffed lemur. This species is endemic to northeastern Madagascar, meaning that they only inhabit this area. These lemurs are arboreal animals that spend most of their time in the canopy of forests. It’s here that they eat fruit, nectar, and pollen. As their name suggests, red ruffed lemurs have a thick, fluffy coat that is mostly red with black markings on their face, belly, tail, hands, and feet. They also have long tails that help them balance.
Because these lemurs spend so much time near the tops of trees, it can become damp and chilly, especially overnight. Their fur often gets wet and cold, so they need to warm up in the morning. This is why they sunbathe. This is a form of behavioral thermoregulation. The lemurs sit or stand upright and spread their arms wide. This helps them to catch as much direct sunlight as they can. As they absorb the warm sun’s rays, they begin to warm up after a chilly night’s rest. The amusing pose that lemurs strike while sunbathing is sometimes described as “sun worshipping,” and the video above captures this behavior well.
Lemurs are a highly diverse group that live in different habitats throughout Madagascar. Because of this, not all species sunbathe, or at least not in the same way. The red ruffed lemur happens to be one of the best examples of one that does. Other species include the ring-tailed lemur, which also uses the sun to warm themselves up. Lemur species that don’t sunbathe warm themselves up by huddling together. Just like us, these animals want to stay as warm as possible, and sunbathing is one of the best ways for them to do so.
