Indri
The largest living lemur is the Indri (Indri indri) of the montane forests of eastern Madagascar. In coloration, it resembles a giant panda with its black and white fur, but in body shape is more anthropomorphic with its long neck and arms, and small ears. The Indri feeds on canopy fruits and leaves and is best known for its eerie yet beautiful song, which can carry for more than 1.2 miles (2 km). This diurnal lemur will bark when confronted with danger, and make kissing sounds when affectionate. Despite its large size, the Indri refuses to move along the ground, and will negotiate gaps by leaping, often over 33 feet (10 m) between tree trunks. Naturally rare due to its low birth rate (one birth every three years) and small population density, today the Indri's numbers are small and dwindling due to habitat loss and hunting. A good portion of the world's remaining Indri are in the Analamazaotra (Perinet) reserve and surrounding forest, due east of Madagascar's capital Antananarivo. The Indri will not survive in captivity and cannot tolerate habitat disturbance; traits that are potential roadblocks to possible rehabilitation projects and conservation.
Verreaux's sifaka
Verreaux's sifaka is the most common species of sifaka. There are four subspecies, the most readily seen of which is Sifaka verreauxi verreauxi at Berenty. At home in the trees, sifakas are powerful jumpers, but on the ground they are somewhat awkward due to their splayed feet. Since trees in their habitat are often dispersed, sifakas cross open ground by sashaying on their hind legs with arms aloft. They are often known as "dancing lemurs." Sifakas also have the remarkable ability to leaping from tree to tree in the spiny forest where virtually every branch is covered with thorns or spines.
Almost all pictures on this site were taken with a Konica Minolta
Recent articles
Madagascar fires mapped with Google Earth in real-time Every year as much as one-third of Madagascar, one of the planet's most biodiverse islands, goes up in flames. Now a new tool gives scientists the ability to monitor and track Madagascar's fires in real-time through the Internet.
UNESCO lists rainforest parks of Madagascar as Heritage sites (7/2/2007) UNESCO has listed six rainforest parks in Madagascar as World Heritage sites. The announcement comes as the Indian Ocean island nation has moved aggressively to protect its biologically-rich forests from further degradation.
Conservation is saving lemurs and helping people in Madagascar (5/7/2007) Madagascar, an island nation that lies off the coast of southeastern Africa, has long been famous for its unique and diverse species of wildlife, especially lemurs--primates found nowhere else on the planet. In recent years, the island country has also become world-renowned for conservation efforts that are succeeding in spite of extraordinary pressures from a poor population that relies heavily on forest burning for basic subsistence. A large part of this success is due to the early efforts of Patricia Wright, a primatologist who has been working in the country for more than 20 years. Wright led the effort to launch the country's leading protected area and helped Madagascar become a leading global example of conservation despite its economic adversity.
