They are omnivores, feeding on ripe fruit, leaves, flowers, insects, and the occasional small vertebrate . Because of their fruit-eating, transient ways, lemurs are important agents of seed dispersal through their droppings. Lemurs also are hunted for food and captured for pet trade or zoos. Black lemurs are sometimes killed because they raid crops. Conservation Actions Madagascar is the world's highest priority for primate conservation.
Lemurs are the most attractive and best-known of Madagascar's wildlife.
Eleven kinds of lemurs live in Ranomafana Park, including some found nowhere else. A cyclone in 1985 triggered landslides on surrounding denuded hillsides, killing many people, destroying homes, and teaching local villagers that it is in their interest to spare the remaining virgin forest. Efforts are now being made to replant barren slopes with fruit trees and restore irrigation channels to revive abandoned rice fields, improving the lives of the local people while restoring habitat. The growth of ecotourism may provide the strong economic incentive necessary for the Malagasy people to preserve natural habitats. Hot springs and the attraction of unique animals offer promise for tourism and jobs.