after the young are born. The offspring then usually stay with their parents until three years of age, when they have reached full maturity. Mongoose lemurs have seasonal habits. Their breeding, eating, and activity habits are largely shaped around the season. Seasonal fluctuations in food resource availability describe the behavior of mongoose lemurs such as female dominance and small group size. Mongoose lemurs usually conceive their offspring some time during October. They present as Nocturnal during the dry season and diurnal during the wet season. Status Captive mongoose lemurs can live up to 26 years, while wild specimens live 18–20 years. Mongoose lemurs in the wild are threatened by the destruction and fragmentation of the forests in which they live, and also by hunting. Their numbers have dwindled by about 80% over a period of 25 years, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated their conservation status as "critically endangered". Mongoose lemurs are more endangered in Madagascar, but there could be a way to conserve them in Comoros because of the increase of these species' population in the area. People should continue to work together and protect these critically endangered species. References External links Animalinfo.org: Mongoose lemur Rogerwilliamsparkzoo.org: Mongoose lemur Duke Lemur Center A research, conservation, and education facility Lemur Conservation Foundation A research, conservation, and education facility True lemurs Endemic fauna of Madagascar Mammals of Madagascar Critically endangered fauna of Africa Mammals described in 1766 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus