The male Ring-tailed lemur: The use of scent
The male Ringtail uses scent not only as a signature but as a means of offence. When he prepares for battle with a rival, he vigorously folds his arms several times and rubs his wrists against his armpit glands. Then he brings his tail forward between his hind legs and in front of his chest and draws in several times between his wrist spurs so that it is loaded with scent. Thus armed, rivals face each other on all fours, lift their haunches high and thrash their splendid tails over their backs with the fur bristling, so that the smell is fanned forwards. Troops meeting on the frontier between territories may do battle in this way for as long as an hour, hopping and skipping, squealing and yawning, and excitedly marking saplings with their wrist spurs.
