Red-ruffed lemurs have scent glands on their rump used for group identification. They also have acute senses of smell, vision and hearing. Their diet varies, depending on the season. Reproduction Red-ruffed lemurs reach sexual maturity at about 2 years of age, and have young at about 3 years of age. In the wild, breeding season occurs from May through July, yet the female is in estrus for only a few days and fertile only one day during this time.
Ruffed lemurs are the only primates that produce litters of young.
The most common litter size is three. Young are born in September or October at the beginning of the wet season, when food is plentiful. Unlike most primates, the female red-ruffed lemur may build several nests for her young, padding them with her own body hair. Newborns have fur, and are wide-eyed at birth, however, they are not mobile at birth. The mother may park them in one of her satellite nests while foraging.