Characteristics and usage of sleeping sites of the northern sportive lemurs (Lepilemur septentrionalis) at Montagne des Français, Madagascar.

Authors

Lucile Rasoamazava, Timothy M Sefczek, Ando N Rakotonanahary, Solofonirina Rasoloharijaona, Edward E Louis

Published in

Folia primatologica; international journal of primatology. Pages 1-12. Aug 14, 2026. Epub Aug 14, 2026.

Abstract

The study of sleeping site selection in primates is fundamental to the development of appropriate conservation strategies. Here we present data on the characteristics and usage of sleeping sites of the northern sportive lemurs (Lepilemur septentrionalis) at Montagne des Français, Madagascar. The study was conducted on three individuals over a period of seven months from December 2018 to June 2019. The research objective is to describe the sleeping site characteristics and usage patterns of L. septentrionalis in the dry forest of Montagne des Français. The northern sportive lemurs in this study used three types of sleeping sites: tree holes, vine tangles, and branches. Among the tree species used as sleeping sites by L. septentrionalis, Strychnos madagascariensis was used most frequently, and most of these sleeping sites were food trees. We most often observed L. septentrionalis using tall trees with large diameters at breast height. Tree holes are generally found in living trees rather than in dead or partially dead trees. We observed a significant difference in the frequency of sleeping sites reuse, with repeated use of tree holes being particularly noticeable. There is no variation in distance between the different types of sleeping sites and the first or last feeding trees. The results of this study suggest that L. septentrionalis depends primarily on large trees with tree holes. The reuse of sleeping sites may serve as a strategy for predator avoidance or for easy access to food resources, while the use of food trees as sleeping sites may be a strategy to reduce the cost of travel to access food resources. Sampling efforts must be considered to better understand the sleeping sites selection preferences of this species.

PMID:
42601063
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 15 Aug 2026.

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