He is quite the character.

Of the 100 or so species of lemurs in Madagascar,

the Ring-Tailed Lemur is easily the most iconic

because of its black and white ringed tail.

They're mostly vegetarian feeding on fruit, leaves,

flowers, bark and the occasional insect or lizard

that they find in the desert scrubland and woods

of southwestern Madagascar.

They're more social than most lemurs

with as many as 24 members in a group.

When traveling together they keep their tails

raised in the air like flags in order to make sure

no one gets lost.

Unfortunately, they have to travel farther

to find suitable habitats.

The habitats they prefer to call home

are being rapidly destroyed

by expanding farmland, overgrazing from livestock,

and charcoal harvesting.

While conservation has battled for the lemurs survival,

there's hope.

Ring-Tailed Lemurs breed very successfully in captivity

and there are over 1,000 individuals

at 140 zoos around the world.

This is the Ring-Tailed Lemur.

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