--- title: Madagascar Island of Lemurs: Rise of Pop Culture Lemurs description: Move over sloths...slowly canonical: https://time.com/45828/lemurs-sloths-popularity/ author: Lily Rothman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-04-04T14:13:34.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T07:04:49.267Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Madagascar Island of Lemurs: Rise of Pop Culture Lemurs og:description: Move over sloths...slowly og:url: https://time.com/45828/lemurs-sloths-popularity/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt73a5738880655c6d/6986886255a85956e5a800ac/mad-00212c.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Madagascar Lemurs og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Madagascar Island of Lemurs: Rise of Pop Culture Lemurs twitter:description: Move over sloths...slowly twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt73a5738880655c6d/6986886255a85956e5a800ac/mad-00212c.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Lemurs Are Pop Culture's New Sloths  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Apr 4, 2014 2:13 PM UTC  Drew Fellman / Warner Bros. Entertainment  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Apr 4, 2014 2:13 PM UTC There was a time, [not so long ago](http://entertainment.time.com/2013/03/22/how-sloths-took-over-pop-culture-the-world/), when sloths ruled the treetops of pop culture, swinging easily from viral-video fame to _The Croods_. Now, however, there’s indication that their reign may be drawing to an end. What’s the only creature that stands a chance of deposing the sloth? It’s the crafty lemur. But _why_? The video of dancing lemurs above is from the IMAX 3D documentary _Island of Lemurs: Madagascar_, out April 4; it’s an in-depth look at the 60-million-year history of the island’s very special primate. But _Island of Lemurs_ isn’t the only evidence that the creatures are approaching ubiquity. After all, the _Madagascar_ cartoon franchise has been around for nearly a decade now, and its inclusion of a wacky-sinister lemur (King Julien) didn’t tip the scales of lemur popularity. But even _Madagascar_ is getting in on the beginnings of this trend: just last month, [Netflix announced](http://www.deadline.com/2014/03/dreamworks-animation-beefs-up-netflix-lineup-with-king-julien-puss-in-boots-and-veggie-tales/) that King Julien would be getting his own show, debuting later this year. Which creature recently knows that[ selfies are the new way to go viral](http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/06/lemur-selfie-london-zoo-bekily)? The lemur. Which creature has a popular [expletive-laden Tumblr blog](http://fuckyeahlemurs.tumblr.com/)? The lemur. And which creature got chosen to be the alias of Ricky Gervais’ villainous character in the recent _Muppets Most Wanted_? The lemur! > [](https://twitter.com/rickygervais/status/447107207696764928) Sure, lemurs haven’t completely overtaken sloths _yet_. But take a look at a chart of [Google search trends for lemurs and sloths](http://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=lemur%2C%20%2Fm%2F0d5zvd%2C%20sloths%2C%20lemurs&cmpt=q). The term “sloth” has a natural head start because it has multiple meanings, but if you compare [the plural forms (sloths, lemurs) in the past year](http://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=sloths%2C%20lemurs&date=today%2012-m&cmpt=q), there’s a clear downward trend for sloths and an upward trend for lemurs. “It’s about time,” says Dr. Patricia Wright, the lemur specialist whose work is featured in _Island of Lemurs_. Wright was the discoverer of the Golden Bamboo lemur species, and confirmed the non-extinction of another species (the Greater Bambloo lemur) that hadn’t been seen for a half-century before she got there. “Lemurs deserve a lot more attention than they ever have had,” she says. “There are a hundred different type of lemurs, and they’re all cute and beautiful.” And their photogenic nature wasn’t the only reason Wright agreed to participate in the documentary. A full 90% of lemur species are either endangered, critically endangered or threatened, Wright says. Her hope is that if the movie is successful, the extra attention for lemurs will help motivate humans to encourage lemur preservation. Wright and many of her fellow lemurphiles are starting from a historical disadvantage, as [the island of Madagascar was closed to Western scientists ](http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg13318094.600-return-to-madagascar-little-is-known-about-madagascars-remarkable-natural-history-now-the-island-is-opening-its-doors-to-the-worlds-researchers.html)for many years, but they have plenty of reason to make up for lost time. After all, there’s a lot we can learn from lemurs. They’re primates (unlike sloths) and Wright describes them as “our most ancient ancestors”; because they were isolated on Madagascar for so many millions of years, they evolved in unique ways. Some can hibernate; others can eat food that contains cyanide. Lemurs also use their bottom teeth as a comb to groom each other. But if Wright is any indication, the age of the pop-culture lemur can be a benevolent one for other animals. Though the scientist can’t wait to finish promoting the movie and get back to Madagascar and the real-life lemurs, she’s not immutable in her loyalties. “I like sloths, too,” she says. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/45828/lemurs-sloths-popularity/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/45828/lemurs-sloths-popularity/"},"headline":"Lemurs Are Pop Culture's New Sloths","datePublished":"2014-04-04T14:13:34.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:04:49.267Z","description":"Move over, sloths! 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