Love to the lemurs

Crowned lemur Epi with her son Ala (just 6 weeks old here), August 2014

Ghosts of Madagascar

In more ways than one...

I remember my first weekend volunteering at Howletts Wild Animal Park in Canterbury. It was mid-March 2014, and the theme was March for Madagascar. For the whole weekend, there was a lot of talk about lemurs, and the leader of the Aspinall Foundation's Madagascar conservation project came in for a special talk. There were quizzes, trivia and lots of activities revolving around lemurs, and I even got to feed a couple of lemurs. It was great fun, even if I did get very sun burnt. 

Aramis,seconds before he tried to undo my
shoelaces and steal my jacket! July 2015

18 months later, and I'm proud to say I still volunteer for the Aspinall Foundation when I'm home from Plymouth. The lemur walk-through enclosure is still one of my favourite parts of the park. It's huge, providing a habitat that is fairly similar to their native habitat, and quite good fun to walk around with the lemurs playing in the trees above your head, or staring at you from the railings. There are four species of lemur that live in the walk-through lemur enclosure. There's a family of black lemur who I'm not very familiar with. There's a family of crowned lemurs (Epi and King, their two-year-old daughter Valana and one-year-old son Ala), three male red-bellied lemurs (Angus, Hamish and Teddy) and a black-and-white ruffed lemur known as Aramis. Yesterday (13th August) I spent a good portion of my lunch break in that enclosure, watching the lemurs play in their indoor area as they sheltered from the rain. Despite having non-prehensile tails, they're amazingly agile, leaping in great bounds between their platforms (and when they're outside, between the trees, too). They're very playful, and very beautiful. That's why I wanted this post to be about lemurs.  

Epi (left) and her daughter Valana, as King photobombs behind
Epi!July 2015

One of the striking things about any lemur is the size of their amber eyes. If you've ever heard a lemur call out, you'll know that it's quite haunting, kind of like a high-pitched, other-worldly wail. These features are how the lemur got their name. Lemur means "ghost" in Malagasy. When humans arrived on the island of Madagascar 2,000 years ago, they thought that the creatures with eery cries and eyes glowing in the night rainforest were spirits. 

Sadly, "ghost" now appears to have a double meaning when it comes to lemurs. 

All of the species housed at Howletts are threatened with extinction.

Crowned lemur: ENDANGERED
Black lemur: VULNERABLE
Black-and-white ruffed lemur: CRITICALLY ENDANGERED
Red-bellied lemur: VULNERABLE

Unfortunately, the trend continues, even with the more familiar species.

Ring-tailed lemur: ENDANGERED
Aye-Aye: ENDANGERED
Indri: CRITICALLY ENDANGERED

There are around 100 species of lemur. As you can see here, a staggering 90% of these are threatened (Vulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered) and nearly 100% of them are declining in numbers. Since humans arrived in Madagascar, fourteen species of lemur have already gone extinct, including one that was the size of a western lowland gorilla. 

In grave danger... Even King Julian is at risk
(Paignton Zoo, May 2015)

Crowned sifaka at Port Lympne, April 2014. A very highly endangered
species indeed!

WHY AREN'T WE KICKING UP A STINK?!

What's Going On?

Precious... if we are to save lemurs, we must take immediate
action (Yorkshire Wildlife Park, April 2015)

All species of lemur are only found on the island of Madagascar. In fact, 90% of the life found in Madagascar is endemic to the country, as evolution took an entirely different route to mainland Africa when the two landmasses split over 100 million years ago. Unfortunately, an astonishingly high proportion of this wildlife is under threat. The country has lost well over 90% of its rainforest cover. The forest is cleared to make elbow room for agriculture with trees sold for cheap timber, and with an increasing human population, the pressures are mounting. But, while it's the most obvious and immediate threat to the lemurs and Madagascar's biodiversity, there are other factors at play here. 

Aye-aye (not my photo, credit goes to
Mark Carwardine)

While lemurs are protected by law, they are still killed. The aye-aye is a very strange species of lemur (photo credit to Mark Carwardine). In Malagasy tradition, it is a harbinger of death, and in an apparent attempt to protect themselves and their families, the lemur is often killed. There have also been cases of whole villages being abandoned and dead aye-ayes being passed between neighbours' gardens in order to avoid the curse. (Of course, the aye-aye is completely harmless.) The aye-aye is an Endangered species with very few remaining strongholds. Unlike the ring-tailed lemur, the aye-aye is notoriously difficult to look after, let alone breed, in captivity (that being said, a handful of good zoos, including Durrell Wildlife Park, have been successful). 

Again, while it's illegal to do so, around 30,000 lemurs were being kept as pets illegally in Madagascar in the period of 2011-2014, and there are fears about how many are being smuggled to other countries. It's worth noting that, as well as being harmful to the population, keeping pet primates isn't the best idea; as animals with high intelligence and complex needs, their welfare generally doesn't fare well in the keeping of pets and is (rightly) frowned upon. In addition to that, the amount of lemurs ending up in the bushmeat trade has alarmed conservationists in recent years. 

Lemurs are in so much trouble that they're now the most threatened mammal group on Earth. So why aren't we kicking up a stink!?

It's important to note that lemurs are economically important. They're charismatic and found nowhere else, so attract tourism to one of the world's poorest countries.

On the edge of existence. The greater bamboo lemur is Critically
Endangered and considered to be one of the world's 25 rarest primates.
Port Lympne (Howletts' sister park), July 2015

What Can I Do To Help?

A lot of conservation bodies are screaming louder and louder for lemurs to be protected. Education is now being implemented to ensure that young locals see lemurs as something worth protecting. Unfortunately, the fate of lemurs is URGENT and more needs to be done. They are in serious trouble, and there's no emphasising that enough. Thankfully, there are a few things you can do to help lemurs. 

- Never buy a pet lemur (or for that matter, any primate, really). Even if you're sure you're buying one from a legal source, this is still a bad idea. For one, demand! Secondly, it's detrimental to their welfare, as these are animals with high intelligence and complex needs. 

- Be careful when buying wood and paper. Look for the FSC logo to make sure it's sustainably source.

- Educate yourself on the plight of lemurs, and spread the word. It seems that there is not enough awareness of what a dark position this group of primates are in.

- If you can, go on an eco-holiday to Madagascar. This is one of the poorest countries on Earth, and if you visit the lemurs in the wild, it'll create a larger incentive for the lemurs to be protected as well as bringing in some much needed money. 

Remember, lemurs are well worth saving!

Valana, July 2015