Aggressive Behavior of Black-and-White Ruffed (Varecia variegata variegata) and Red Ruffed (Varecia variegata rubra) Lemurs (Primates, Lemuridae)

Abstract

Aggressive behavior of 155 individuals of black-and-white ruffed lemurs (Varecia variegata variegata (Kerr 1792)) and red ruffed lemurs (Varecia variegata rubra (Geoffroy 1812)) kept in conditions of domestic and foreign zoological parks was studied. The material was collected in the summer months in 2008–2018. The animals were kept in pairs and groups of up to 14 individuals. The total duration of observations is more than 5600 h. When analyzing aggressive behavior, we took into account the number of individuals in group, the sex and age of animals, close family ties, as well as the area and type of enclosure. It is shown that the aggressive behavior of ruffed lemurs depends on the age of animals: older females are more aggressive than the young ones, whereas males more rarely initiate aggression with age. Significant differences in the frequency of aggressive interactions in groups with different sex composition are revealed. It is found that the frequency of aggressive interactions in groups consisting of males and females decreased with an increase in the area of ​​ enclosure per animal. The aggressive behavior of ruffed lemurs does not depend on the number of individuals in group, the relatedness of the aggressor and the victim, and the type of enclosure (indoor or outdoor). The types of conflict situations depending on the reasons and conditions of occurrence of aggressive interaction as well as the structure of aggressive interactions in different categories of conflict pairs are described.