LEMURS PART ONE

Lemurs, Bush Babies, Lorises, Pottos and Tarsiers are all of the family of prosimians.

They are a close relative of monkeys. The theory is being in competition with monkeys made them all nocturnal but the lemur.

Bones were found in Europe and Africa proved lemurs existed there 50 million years ago. Lemurs are ancestors of mankind. They were widespread but due to climate changes and development of monkeys drove them almost to extinction.

Madagascar broke away from the  mainland of Africa due to  the continental drift. A small number must have escaped by clinging to drifting vegetation.

At that time there were few animals on the island and the lemurs were able to establish themselves. The Madagascar wildlife evolved separately from  wildlife elsewhere.

Around 45 species and subspecies of lemur survive on the big island but are in danger of extinction.

HABITAT
Madagascar, the third largest island in the world, has an amazing selection of habitats for its wildlife. There are deserts as well as tropical rainforests. The island has five different climatic areas and the high altitude of the hills which is like a spine with further diversities along the eastern slopes of the Haut Plateau.

The rainforests are the richest habitat but the dryer deciduous forests hold very rare species like Decken's sifaka and crowned lemur.

Even there are heavy destruction and so severe that animals becoming extinct before they are known to western zoologists to save the species.

FOOD AND HUNTING
As around 80 per cent of Madagascar's plant life is found only on the island, the diet of the lemurs is as unusual as the animals themselves, vegetarian lemurs like the Brown lemur are eating a wide variety of flowers, leaves and fruits in season.

Certain rainforest species, including the ruffed lemur are mainly fruit-eaters but indri lemurs depend on leaves.

The tiny nocturnal mouse lemur eats only insects. With its hands like ours it holds its prey and eats it. It makes loud smacking noises while it enjoys the best parts of it.

The aye-aye eats mainly insects but also appreciates coconuts and raid the village plantations to extract coconut milk. It scrapes the white meat off the coconut shell with its long finger.

SPECIAL ADAPTATIONS
The aye-aye living in the rainforests of the north and east coast has the habit if a woodpecker. It feeds at night and uses its extra long middle finger to tap the branches. It listens with bat-like ears for the rustle of insects and extracts under the bark its food.

The animal moves on all fours through the branches, and walks on its wrists not to damaging its delicate finger.

The indri is so attuned to the rainforest environment that it can live nowhere else.  It depends on a least 80 different plants and only found in the Madagascar rainforests. It is therefore impossible to keep it in a zoo.

Verrea's sifaka lives in the spiny desert at the south and has no access to water from streams or rivers. To survive it drinks the dew from its coat in the early morning.

Lemur have sensitive whiskers on their muzzle surrounding the wet-tipped nose called rhinarium. A sense of smell is very important to the animal for it is used as a means of communication.

All lemur have scent glands which they use to stake out their territory.

The ring-tailed lemur rubs its wrist glands over its stripy tail and uses it like a perfumed wand to spread its scent about.

During the mating season it amounts to a scent war by the ring-tailed lemurs to attract females.