LEMUR PART TWO

FULVUS OR BROWN LEMUR

Their CALLS
Lemurs of Madagascar have a great variety of calls.

The fulvus lemur sound like a dirty laugh.

MOUSE LEMUR

The mouse lemur has a twitter when it is disturbed or threatened.

The sifaka calls sounds its name.

The most strange call has the aye-aye which sounds unearthly when in the middle of the night. Its like a tambourine.

One of the most beautiful calls in the entire animal kingdom belongs to the indri. It sings in a descending chorus to protect its hilltop territory.

SIFAKA LEMUR

FAMILY LIFE
The sportive lemurs and the mouse lemur lead a solitary lives. The other species have such a complex social organisation that scientists who study primates are keen to uncover origins of human behaviour. There is a great variety.

Ringtailed lemurs are competitive, with a strict hierarchy dominated by the mothers. The males just follow the group travelling around their territory competing for their mating rights. They always drink last and in a drought they die first.

Sifaka are in  friendly groups of mother, aunties and uncles and know no aggression.

The mouse lemur has several babies but most of the other lemurs have only one. To begin, the mother carries it through threes clinging to her belly. When it grow bigger it climbs on her  back and soon makes its first excursion.

NEW DISCOVERIES
Recently there were two new species of lemurs discovered.

The first was a re-discovery of the golden bamboo lemur - thought to be extinct.

The second is a whole new species of sifaka named golden crowned lemur. It was discovered in the dry forest in northern Madagascar which was on the verge to be felled to make charcoal.

RELATIONSHIP WITH MAN
Madagascar was an inhibited island until 2000 years ago. The lemur and other species had the place to themselves for over 50 million years.

When human pioneers arrived from Africa and Indonesia in their canoes they had no fear of man.

Hunters could kill a large number immediately. A loss of at least 20 species, when they burned the forests to create pastures for their cattle. Even today the destruction and burning is still going on.

The rainforests are slashed and  burned to grow hill rice on the slopes.  Madagascar's soil is fragile and misuse will have a catastrophic effect. Since the population increases the pressure on Lemurs and there habitats will continue.

CONTINUING PERSECUTION
Although there are now protective legislation lemurs are still hunted for food and the forests felled
.
One point which is never mentioned is corruption of the law by powerful town dwellers. Unless this is stopped lemur and other important species only to be found in Madagascar will never  be safe.