The mating season lasts from May through July, during the cold, rainy season, resulting in birth and peak lactation coinciding with the time that fruit is the most plentiful. The gestation period of ruffed lemurs is the shortest of the family Lemuridae, averaging 102 days (with a range of 90 to 106 days). Gestation in the wild last slightly longer than in captivity, averaging 106 days. Just like the mating season, parturition is also seasonal, synchronized to the end of the cold, dry season and the start of the productive hot, rainy season.