Flora & Fauna Areas

Madagascar Flora/Fauna

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High in the forest of Montagne d'Ambre in northern Madagascar we spotted a group of lemurs.  Photography is difficult in the low afternoon light of dense rainforest, but Amanda was able to crank the ISO on our digital Canon up to 1,600 to capture this individual who was exposed on a tree branch.

This is probably a female Sanford's Lemur Eulemur Sanfordi with the all black face.  (Notice her tail wrapped around her neck like a fur scarf!)  Male Sanford's Lemurs have black nose and eyes, with white ruff and ears (see photo above, on this page).  Sanford's are medium sized lemurs, with bodies of 38‑40 cm (15‑16") and tails an additional 50‑55 cm (20‑22") but weighing only 1.8 kg (4 lbs).  They live in groups of up to 15 animals and only in northern Madagascar from sea level to 1,400 meters (4,600 feet).  Gestation is 120 days, with births in September and October. Like most other Lemuridae they eat fruits, flowers and other plant parts like buds.  They also sometimes eat spiders and millipedes.  They are endangered due to loss of habitat to logging and mining and being taken illegally as pets.

This male Crowned Lemur Eulemur coronatus found us just as interesting as we found him, high in his tree in Réserve Spéciale de l'Ankárana in north central Madagascar.  These animals are gray-brown with brown and white faces.  They get their name from the black crown on the male.  Of the Eulemur genus, the coronatus is the smallest, weighing only 1.2 kg (2.6 lbs) with a 35 cm (14 in) body and a tail of 41‑49 cm (16‑19 in).  Crowned Lemurs are “cathemeral” meaning they are active both day and night.  They eat fruit, leaves, pollen and sometimes insects.  These lemurs live from sea level to 1,400 meters (4,600 feet) and are the only lemur to live in the very far north of Madagascar on the Cap d'Ambre Peninsula.  Their habitat is varied, from arid hills to moist rainforest.  Living in groups of 5‑15 individuals, they have a dominant female, like most other lemur groups.

In the wet season, December to May, they are often found mixed with groups of Sanford Lemurs.  We found this to be true even in mid‑October.  The easiest way to tell the 2 lemur species apart when they are frolicking through the trees is that only the Sanfords have white ear tufts and black faces.

The nocturnal Ankárana Sportive Lemur Lepilemur ankaranensis seemed surprisingly alert even during the early morning hours as we hiked through Réserve Spéciale de l'Ankárana in northern Madagascar.  This is one of the smallest of the sportive lemurs with an average body size of 28 cm (11") and a tail of 25 cm (10").  They weigh less than 1kg (2.2 lbs).  They have prominent ears and are light gray-brown, with gray back and pale belly.  They tend to keep a very vertical posture (very koala-like!) except when curled in their holes in the trees where they sleep.  The field guides say that they are very active and acrobatic but that must be at night, when they are truly awake.  We mainly saw them in their holes or clinging quietly to a tree trunk.  But even though they are active, they still only range over an area of about 1 hectare.  They are found in dry lowland forests such as Réserve Spéciale de l'Ankárana and also the moist forest of Montagne d’Ambre, both in northern Madagascar.

The Ankárana Sportive Lemurs are prey to Madagascar ground boa constrictors which hunt them in their sleeping sites in trees.  This lemur's habitat is threatened by charcoal production (cutting the forest and burning) and from hunting (they are taken by humans for food).

To spot a nocturnal lemur you hold a flashlight (torch) at your eye level and shine it around through the bushes.  The large eyes of the lemur will shine back at you, as they do in this flash photo.