Social organization and ranging behavior vary widely within the family and in Lemur there is variation within, as well as between, species. In Madagascar, mongoose lemur social groups consist of an adult male and female with their immature offspring. Groups are stable in composition, but other than grooming, interactions among members are rare and there is no clear social structure. In the Comoro Islands, Mayotte lemurs also spend their time in groups of about nine animals, but the composition of these groups varies from day to day and they may be subunits of a larger social network. Aggressive interactions within the social group are common and there are clear male and female dominance hierarchies.
Females are dominant to males.
The male hierarchy disintegrates during the mating season and males compete equally for access to females. Females spend their lives in the group into which they were born, whereas males transfer at least once and possibly several times during their lives from one group to another. The ruffed lemur has yet to be well studied but it appears to live in pair-bonded units. Its pattern of reproduction is unique in the family. Meetings occur 1 - 3 times a night, lasting from five minutes to an hour, during which the pair move, feed, rest and occasionally groom together.