It is hard to guess what a Greater bamboo lemur weights. But we have the answer:
An adult Greater bamboo lemur (Prolemur simus) on average weights 2.03 kg (4.48 lbs).
The Greater bamboo lemur is from the family Lemuridae (genus: Prolemur). They can live for up to 12 years. When reaching adult age, they grow up to 37 cm (1′ 3″). On average, Greater bamboo lemurs can have babies 1 times per year with a litter size of 1.
As a reference: An average human weights in at 62 kg (137 lbs) and reaches an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″). Humans spend 280 days (40 weeks) in the womb of their mother and reach around 75 years of age.
The greater bamboo lemur (Prolemur simus), also known as the broad-nosed bamboo lemur and the broad-nosed gentle lemur, is the largest bamboo lemur, at over five pounds or nearly 2.5 kilograms. It has greyish brown fur and white ear tufts, and has a head-body length of around one and a half feet, or forty to fifty centimeters. They have relatively long tails and long back legs for leaping vertically amongst the trees of their forest habitat. It feeds almost exclusively on the bamboo species of Cathariostachys madagascariensis, preferring the shoots but also eating the pith and leaves. It is unknown how their metabolism deals with the cyanide found in the shoots. The typical daily dose would be enough to kill humans. Greater bamboo lemurs occasionally consume fungi, flowers, and fruit. Its main food source is bamboo and it is the main reason why it has become critically endangered. Areas with high density of bamboo have major human disturbances, where humans cut or illegally cut down bamboo.Its only confirmed predators are the fossa and the bushpigs, but raptors are also suspected. Its current range is restricted to southeastern Madagascar, although fossils indicate its former range extended across bigger areas of the island, including as far north as Ankarana. Some notable parts of the current range are the Ranomafana and Andringitra National Parks.Greater bamboo lemurs live in groups of up to 28. Individuals are extremely gregarious. The species may be the only lemur in which the male is dominant, although this is not certain. Because of their social nature, greater bamboo lemurs have at least seven different calls. Males have been observed taking bamboo pith away from females that had put significant effort into opening the bamboo stems. In captivity, greater bamboo lemurs have lived over the age of 17.
Animals of the same family as a Greater bamboo lemur
We found other animals of the Lemuridae family:
- Gray-headed lemur bringing 2.4 kilos (5.29 lbs) to the scale
- Red lemur bringing 2.39 kilos (5.27 lbs) to the scale
- Common brown lemur bringing 2.38 kilos (5.25 lbs) to the scale
- Red-bellied lemur bringing 2.03 kilos (4.48 lbs) to the scale
- Ring-tailed lemur bringing 2.63 kilos (5.8 lbs) to the scale
- Mongoose lemur bringing 1.77 kilos (3.9 lbs) to the scale
- Golden bamboo lemur bringing 1.57 kilos (3.46 lbs) to the scale
- Black lemur bringing 2.48 kilos (5.47 lbs) to the scale
- Greater bamboo lemur bringing 2.04 kilos (4.5 lbs) to the scale
- Sanford’s brown lemur bringing 2.39 kilos (5.27 lbs) to the scale
Animals with the same weight as a Greater bamboo lemur
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Prolemur simus:
- Asiatic brush-tailed porcupine with a weight of 2 kilos (4.41 lbs)
- Granada hare with a weight of 2.33 kilos (5.14 lbs)
- Eastern common cuscus with a weight of 1.75 kilos (3.86 lbs)
- Banded hare-wallaby with a weight of 1.94 kilos (4.28 lbs)
- Common genet with a weight of 1.77 kilos (3.9 lbs)
- Common brown lemur with a weight of 2.38 kilos (5.25 lbs)
- De Vis’s woolly rat with a weight of 1.66 kilos (3.66 lbs)
- Malagasy civet with a weight of 1.86 kilos (4.1 lbs)
- Andean hairy armadillo with a weight of 2.14 kilos (4.72 lbs)
- Equatorial saki with a weight of 2.38 kilos (5.25 lbs)
Animals with the same size as a Greater bamboo lemur
Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as Greater bamboo lemur:
- Stein’s cuscus with a size of 42.4 cm (1′ 5″)
- David’s echymipera with a size of 37.6 cm (1′ 3″)
- Chinese ferret-badger with a size of 38.5 cm (1′ 4″)
- Pichi with a size of 29.7 cm (1′ 0″)
- Brazilian three-banded armadillo with a size of 30 cm (1′ 0″)
- Blanford’s fox with a size of 42.7 cm (1′ 5″)
- Red giant flying squirrel with a size of 41.1 cm (1′ 5″)
- Patagonian weasel with a size of 32.4 cm (1′ 1″)
- Eastern quoll with a size of 33.3 cm (1′ 2″)
- Ring-tailed lemur with a size of 42.5 cm (1′ 5″)
Animals with the same litter size as a Greater bamboo lemur
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (1) as a Greater bamboo lemur:
- Insular horseshoe bat
- King colobus
- Eastern lesser bamboo lemur
- Bioko Allen’s bushbaby
- Père David’s vole
- Markhor
- Tree pangolin
- Bushy-tailed mongoose
- Japanese serow
- Greater mouse-eared bat
Animals with the same life expectancy as a Greater bamboo lemur
Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a Greater bamboo lemur:
- Long-tailed goral with an average maximal age of 13.17 years
- Striped polecat with an average maximal age of 13.33 years
- Patagonian mara with an average maximal age of 14 years
- Ground cuscus with an average maximal age of 12 years
- Oncilla with an average maximal age of 10 years
- Golden hamster with an average maximal age of 10 years
- Jaguarundi with an average maximal age of 10.58 years
- Rock hyrax with an average maximal age of 14 years
- Short-tailed chinchilla with an average maximal age of 10 years
- Red-fronted gazelle with an average maximal age of 13.5 years