This volume includes up-to-date field research on the longest-studied and best known of lemur species. It contains articles by scientists from America, Europe, Japan and Madagascar, who combine their knowledge to describe an animal which is unique among primates, a lemur whose group structure resembles that of many monkeys, but whose behavior does not. Ringtailed lemurs, Lemur catta, are female dominant, prone to evict their cousins from social groups, and live at population densities ten times greater than monkeys. The volume treats ecology, behavior, and physiology to present current research on this unique primate. The papers review past research and add new dimensions of research related to nutrition, health, hormonal biology, plant ecology, behavioral ecology, and demography of Lemur catta.

Alison Jolly was the first scientist to study ringtailed lemurs in the wild, beginning in 1963. She continues her research on their troops in Berenty Reserve, working with many colleagues and students. Robert Sussman began the survey of ringtails throughout Wesern Madagascar in 1970, and in 1979 co-founded Beza Mahafaly Reserve of the School of Agronomy, University of Antananarivo. He has also continued research with generations of western and Malagasy students since then. Naoki Koyama heads the Kyoto University study group on ringtail behavior at Berenty, 1989 to the present. Hantanirina Rasamimanana of the +ëcole Normale Sup+¬rieur, University of Antananarivo, first worked at Berenty in 1983, and continues research there with the ENS students. In short, the four editors head all the major ringtail research groups, and have united with their colleagues and students to write this volume.