Family groups of black and white ruffed lemurs consist of at least one mated pari, together with a variable number of offspring. The reproductive biology of ruffed lemurs in the wild is poorly understood, and most information comes from observations of captive ruffed lemurs. After being born, infants remain in nests and do to cling to the fur of their mother, as is the case with other lemur species. If they are transported, it is in the mother's mouth. At seven weeks old they are as mobile and active as adult ruffed lemurs.
Scientists are uncertain as to the distribution of the black and white ruffed lemur.
Its range may extend through the eastern rain forests from the Antainambalana River in the north to Manakara or to just north of the Mananara River in the south. It is also found on the small island of Nosy Mangabe, where it was introduced in the 1930s. Population figures are unknown, but it does not appear to occur at high densities apart from Nosy Mangabe, where as many as 100 to 150 individuals are estimated to reside. The red ruffed lemur is restricted to the forests of the Masoala Peninsula in northeastern Madagascar. Numbers are unknown, but it is considered to be extremely rare, and it may even be extinct in the northern part of its small range.