On the island of Madagascar — just off the coast of Africa, lives an animal found nowhere else in the world – a primate known as a lemur. With their long tails, fur and dainty hands, they look like a mixture of cat, squirrel, raccoon and monkey. And in just about all species of lemurs, it’s the females who make the rules. I’m Jim Metzner, and this is the Pulse of the Planet, presented by the American Museum of Natural History.
“And how can you tell that females are dominant? Well, first of all, they’re always in the front. They’re leading. They’re the decision-makers. They decide what the family, or the group, is going to do that day.”
Patricia Wright is a professor of anthropology at the State University of New York.
“The females can displace, just take over the spot of the male lemurs at any time. Females always go into the fruit trees first, so that means they get the best fruit and they get the ripest fruit and they can eat as much as they want. And not until they’re finished eating, will the male lemur be allowed to go into the tree. Now most of the time, the males are very obedient, and they just follow her and do whatever she says. But occasionally, especially some of the younger males, they decide that they want to do something that she thinks is inappropriate. And then she will jump at him, she’ll bite him; she’ll cuff him and she’ll put him right back in his place. And he’ll say I’m sorry, I’m very sorry and he won’t do it again.”
For transcripts of this and other programs in our series, please visit our web site at www.pulseplanet.com.
Pulse of the Planet is presented by the American Museum of Natural History. Additional funding for this series has been provided by the National Science Foundation. I’m Jim Metzner.