Lemurs are without a doubt THE symbol of Madagascar! Endemic to this country, it´s a paradise to see them in the wild with the huge advantage of seeing different species when traveling across the country! We all imagine the ring-tailed lemurs but the variety and beauty of the other lemur species is beyond belief. They are super cute, fluffy and curious animals!
There are over a hundred lemur species and I saw 14 different ones, not bad! Such diversity goes from tiny lemurs weighing only 30 grams to the biggest ones with almost 10 Kg. Some species can only be found in specific regions of Madagascar and it would take you months to explore all national parks to see more. Some of them are nocturnal, so do the math!
A world without wildlife is like a canvas without colors
Thankfully, we visited some of the most popular areas known for their lemurs in Southern and Eastern Madagascar.
This post will be heavy in photos and quick videos to share ALL the lemur species I got to see as well as the experience, fun stories or just my feelings behind the scenes, so here we go!
The hiking experience
The beauty of this experience in Madagascar is the actual process to see lemurs in the wild requires doing some hikes leading to unbelievable landscapes from rocky mountains, canyons and rainforests -night time included! –
Being there 2 weeks allowed me to grasp some of the landscape diversity we can find in this beautiful country!
In a different post I will cover the national parks we visited.. now to the point: Lemurs!
Ring-tailed lemur (Maki)
KING JULIEN!
Who can deny this character placed Madagascar and lemurs on the map for millions of people? It is inevitable to think about the movie, every single person in my group was like.. ohh King Julien! at least once, I swear… 😉
Just for fun, if you have beeing living under a rock, a quick visual reminder of King Julien and what the fuzz is about!
Now let´s go to real life! In local language they call it maki and the official species is ring-tailed lemur. It is the only one with an eye-catching tail ringed with 13 alternating black and white bands.
Their tail is LONG and I mean, really long… Their body lenght is from 39 to 45 cm and the tail goes up to 60 cm! Their average weight is 2.5 Kg.
In the eyes of animals, we see the reflection of our own souls
What impressed me the most was their intense look, beautiful eyes especially with direct sunlight.. uff.. This was the case for all lemurs but if I had to choose one, if would be the ring tailed one.
These lemurs spend a third of their time on the ground which gives us even a better chance to see them closely in the wild 😉 That´s also why they are so good at walking and moving in all different positions.
They are technically endangered but not as much compared to other lemur species.
Some photo choice from different places I saw them: Isalo National Park, Anja community reserve, Reniala Nature reserve and Lemur´s Park in Antananarivo.
Show time! Some short videos of these cute little guys in action!
“I like to move it, move it”
OBVIOUSLY.. one must create at least one reel with the background music from the movie! “I like to move it, move it” or “Quiero mover el bote… quiero mover el bote.. me gusta.. mueve!!” .. as Mexican of course I find it more hilarious in my native language!! The music-only version I found in instagram was just the perfect middle ground!
This was the species I saw the most. Some of them on top of the trees, others trying to steal food from us, others not afraid of people and VERY close… 😉
To finish with our lovely makis, a couple of selfies with them to cherish forever!
Red-bellied lemur
We were lucky to attract the curiosity of couple of red-bellied lemurs in Ranomafana National Park. They are medium size, body lenght up to 25 cm + big tail, weight from 1.6 – 2.4 kgs. As many other lemurs, they are important seed dispersers in the rainforests they live in.
After the ring-tailed lemurs, this is the lemur fully in the wild I experienced the closest! It´s almost like they wanted us to see them, the one in the first picture was holding to a tree maximum 2 meters away from me. It was super cute!
It was a small group and they were jumping all over the place. I captured a somewhat-chaotic video but that is how it really goes if you want to get a glimpse of their natural behaviour… in the real rainforest!!
Despite the name, this is a female: They have a white belly and the chest of the body is chesnut brown. The males do have a red belly and white eye-patches. Both of them have chestnut-brown color on their backs and size is the same. They only differ in color.
Fun fact: We really needed to go off the path and walk through all sorts of trees and branches to get there! The whole journey is an adventure (even in the designated paths), but I remember this specifically as something that was an extra challenge to access! Needless to say the lemur encounter was so incredible that it was fully worth it!
Red-fronted brown lemur
Still in Ranomafana National Park we found red-fronted lemurs. This is one of the few lemur species that is not female dominant (boo!😉) They are sexually dichromatic, meaning gender is easily distinguished based on their coloration. Their average weight is 2 – 2.5 kgs.
This one was difficult to capture for me as my camera kept focusing on the trees. Thankfully, you make friends during the trip and they are kind enough to share their better pictures. The first 2 photos are mine taken from the video.
Males are gray, and females are reddish-brown. Both sexes have pale patches over their eyes, and the males have a reddish crown
They live in western Madagascar´s dry forests, also found in smaller proportion in Eastern Madagascar rainforest (where I was)
Last, super quick video of this encounter!
Small-toothed sportive lemur
Fancy name, huh? Well, with over 100 species someone needs to get creative! 😉
This is a nocturnal lemur we saw almost accidentally still in Ranomafana. Soon after this little guy must have gone to sleep again, but luckily we saw it!
This endangered lemur weights between 0.9 and 1.2 kg, with a head-body length of 27–32 cm. It´s found only in inland southeastern Madagascar, normally sleeping in tree cavities as you see here!
Fun fact: while this would happen during the night so I could not witness it myself.. being arboreal species they leap from branch to branch at heights of 5–15 meters. The athleticism of their leaps is what gives then such name. Rather than jumping from horizontal branch to horizontal branch, they are vertical leapers, clinging to vertical branches or tree trunks and leaping from vertical support to vertical support.
Mouse lemur
I can´t avoid another deviation to a fiction character that is SOOO CUTE! This is tiny nocturnal lemur we got to see both in Ranomafana and Andasibe night-walks.
The “mouse” lemur name describes it perfectly, if you have no idea you are looking at a lemur you might as well think it is a mouse but if you are close enough to see those big eyes -surprise!- , the tail and the peculiar lemur feet… that is certainly not a mouse!
Technically, the actual smallest lemur lives in western Madagascar (pygmy mouse lemur) so it was not this one but it would be the second or third smallest mouse lemur depending on the source.
It is true though that mouse lemurs are the smallest primates! They weight on average 43–55 grams and their head to body size is 5 – 12cm + tail 12cm
There are up to 24 mouse lemur sub-species! Much of this genetic variation isn’t visible when simply looking at them (good to know! as I have been struggling to get you the exact species but they look almost the same to me 😉)
As one biologist and scientist said: “it just doesn’t make sense to be visually distinct in a nocturnal world”
Golden bamboo lemur
From its “uniqueness”, this is the most relevant sighting in Ranomafana National Park because this critically endangered species was discovered here in 1985 by Dr. Patricia Wright.
Some time later Ranomafana was declared National Park and currently there is a lot of conservation work led by her. I always admire people so passionate in their fields who are able influence entire communities and in this case wildlife.
It is estimated that only 250 mature individuals remain in the wild and continue to decline. They live only in southeastern Madgascar bamboo-laden forests and marshes, in a couple of rainforest protected areas.
Average adult weight is 1.25 – 1.7 kg. Body lenght is approximately 35 cm plus the 40 cm tail!
Diet? take a guess? Giant bamboo!
Short video below! As you see the lighting conditions were challenging but we managed to see it!
Diademed sifaka lemur
Already in Andasibe, we had another full day hike to find lemurs. The rainforest made honor to its name and we had a very rainy day with more challenging conditions compared to our earlier excursions.
Lemurs were protecting from the rain but patience paid off, we found them and spent a fair amount of time watching them.
Diademed sifakas inhabit eastern Madagascar and they are know by their large size, being the second largest lemur alive today after the Indri. Average weight is 6.5 kg, length of 105 cm including the tail, but unfortunately classified as critically endangered, with 6000 to 10000 remaining individuals
I read somewhere they are “one of the most colorful and attractive of all the lemurs” , in other biologist´s blog: “one of the most beautiful primates in Madagascar”… This is subjective but I was really fascinated by them so I can agree to this 😊
Personally, the white fur and color combination is something I was greatly looking for so I got super excited when we saw them. They have black or dark gray face framed with white hair, with a patch of black on the top of its head. As the head resembles a “diadem”, they got the english name from that! (many species to name, remember?)
As most lemurs, they are herbivore, eating only leaves, fruit and flowers, hence playing a role in dispersing seeds and keep the forests alive.
Fun fact: (about us) The rain was the least of our worries, I would even say it made it more special! A couple of times I got big rain drops straight in my eye when looking up but I would just start laughing. Those funny moments you get to remember and appreciate more where on earth we were, literally.
Last from this gorgeous lemur, a quick video of them in action! Remember this, it was raining!
Indri lemur
Indris are the biggest lemurs in the world! Adult average size is from 64 cm 70 cm, weights up to 9.5 kg and, interestingly, it´s the only lemur without a long tail. Known for their loud vocals and singing to communicate with each other and as an alarm system.
We found them in Andasibe just next to the Sifaka lemurs! Here some quick video!
I saw one Indri very close in a lower part of the tree, full body facing our way. Absolutely beautiful memory -in my head- but I was not fast enough to get a good shot. Thankfully, my amazing group saved the day and I can share this photo with you!
I got to see this lemur jumping I don´t know how many meters but I can tell you it was a BIG jump, something spectacular to see!
No one cares story but still MY memories..
You can skip these paragraphs if desperate to see more lemurs ;D
We saw a lot more the sifakas, so maybe the only tiny “heartbreak” I had related to lemurs was that we were not able to see THAT MANY Indris – we did, but considering our location the normal expectation was to see a lot more activity and singing –
I even considered deviating from the group route and staying one more day in the rainforest to give it a second chance. In the end I decided not to, both for financial reasons but also because travelling with our Intrepid group -almost by end of the tour- had become something special already, so the sentimental value played a role.
Ultimately, we saw them, it´s just that sometimes you can actually hear the singing from miles and see them more active but our very rainy day might have affected a little, so 😉 We hiked 2 more hours in the evening and didn´t see them again. The hike was ALWAYS great by itself, but not spotting Indris again was a little heart-breaking.
“There are no regrets in life, just lessons”
If planning by myself, I would have had at least 2 full days to explore the national parks in the area mainly to increase the close encounter possibilities, and I guarantee you never get bored. Every individual lemur you get to see in the wild is truly an amazing feeling!
But I was in a group, I´m still super happy with the outcome and most importantly people I met, but ahhh that extra day would have been great hehe ;D that I even made a suggestion to the tour itinerary. Out of my feelings systems now!
And this is where we said goodbye to the National Parks! and traveled back to the country´s capital, Antananarivo.
Coquerel´s sifaka lemur
This type of sifaka lemur is endemic to the dry northwestern forests of Madagascar (spoiler, I did not travel there), but saw them in a private reserve in Antananarivo.
Sifakas are distinguished from other lemurs by their vertical clinging and leaping mode of locomotion: these animals maintain a distinctly vertical posture and leap through the trees using just the strength of their back legs. When jumping they can cover up to 10 meters from tree to tree!
Watching all lemurs is fun, but these ones particularly so closely allows you to see how they move around jumping laterally 😊
Unless you are pro videographer or have all the time in the world, expect videos to be all crazy! You either watch them with your own eyes or in your camera so.. I rather see them 😉
– Nat justifying crappy videos haaaa-
On the ground, sifakas cross treeless areas just as gracefully by bipedal sideways hopping, which I absolutely saw up close, and more or less.. captured.
Next video is a combo of the coquerel´s sifaka and the ring tailed lemurs! In the park they live well together, but it was still funny to watch the ring tailed taking their place for a little while
Being so close to them I got a lot of photos so here the last share in Instagram.
Crowned sifaka lemur
Within the same reserve in Lemur´s Park, there was another sifaka species with a gorgeous fur! I saw crowned sifakas very close as well, but they did not come down to the ground as the coquerels did.
They are medium-sized lemurs, their bodies are up to 45 cm long, with tails up to 56 cm in length. Adults weigh about 4 kg and they are also endemic to northwest side of Madagascar but protected in this park. Like all other sifakas, they have relatively short arms and long, very powerful legs.
One more quick video to share a few seconds of my experience watching them:
See more photos of these critically endangered lemurs, very beautiful as well!
Black and white ruffed lemur
Continuing in Lemur´s Park, we have the very gorgeous black and white ruffed lemur. Almost any animal dressed in black and white gets my attention 😊 I don´t know why but there is always something magical for me in this combination.
This shall be remembered as the one with the most hilarious sunbathing position I captured!
"Sunbathing like a lemur" shall be honored every year (me)
Many lemurs do that though I got to see it couple of times with the ring-tailed and these! I loved this because of the unrestricted view to the relaxing pose!
Sometimes you forget certain details about your trips over time, but I am fully convinced this is something I will always remember, “sunbathing like a lemur” shall be honored every year.
At least here in the nordics, the “once a year” kind of applies hehe. Sunshine had been a “given” my whole life but now it is an actual event and a season to be enjoyed. So, as ridiculous as it sounds coming from a Mexican… I hear you and feel you lemurs!!
Probably that´s why I find it sooo funny! I used to make fun of my dear Finns (and before that Europeans in general) for sunbathing at the minimal opportunity, and now I am behaving EXACTLY like them during the summer time if we are lucky to have a decent one hehe.
Oh yeah totally off topic! Back to lemurs!
This would never end, so the last pictures I want to share are in Instagram!
Eastern lesser bamboo lemur
These are the smallest of all the bamboo lemurs with a max. weight of 0.9 kg. This species has uniformly grey fur that is dense enough to keep them dry in the tropical rainforest they call home. This fur is thick enough that it often hides the lemurs’ ears.
Thankfully, this species is relatively abundant in the wild.
I saw this lemur more closely in Lemur´s Park, and technically also in Andasibe except I could not photograph it 😉 For photo and video purposes it was much easier in the smaller park.
Common brown lemur
Till this day, I am not over these expressions! I am seriously thinking about making them own GIFs or something I could use in Teams / Whatsapp to react to differen things! Love it, love it, love it
I was told they are the same species, male and female. As some other lemurs they are dichromatic, which means they look different depending on the gender. This is way more noticeable.
These lemurs were also extremely curious about my 360 camera stick -agh! Painful memory again as it was NOT recording high quality video! but well..it made a good story just for their reactions anyway-
I have to confess it shocked me a little because they looked very skinny, but also some lemurs are really tiny so it is not easy to judge if they are truly healthy or not. Then I kept reminding myself some of them are rescued lemurs, and yet again I was not anymore in the rainforest.. so one way or another it was not the same.
Here I had enough time to watch them and get close since I was the only one with the guide during my visit, there were very playful and didn´t even bother to go. They are clearly used to humans but I always approached them very slowly just in case not to scare them away.
Insta post!
And that covered all the lemurs!! a few pages that took days 😉
The next section is rather a reflection still related to lemurs as something I learned during this trip!
My thoughts on private reserves…
I learned by the end of the trip the photos you see of people feeding lemurs, having them on their shoulders and things like that… are only possible if you go to private reserves. From a responsible, ethical travel this is NOT considered ok as it endangers the species in the long term. Our travel company, Intrepid Travel, does not support these practices and they don´t take you there (Bravo Intrepid)
The fact that lemurs live in Madagascar does not mean they are not endangered unfortunately. When lemurs get used to human dependent activity, they may not get the food they really need and their natural instincts slowly disappear. This is not good for them obviously!
I understood the government is now more strict about it and some “private” activities are restricted. However, as long as there are tourists visiting, I would not be surprised that still behind the scenes those lemurs feedings and more pet-style behaviour is happening. I cannot tell you first hand because we didn´t go to those where such practices happen 😉 They are usually close to the national parks where most tourists go to. I have no evidence but also no doubt some practices are still ongoing.
I admit it was a big slap on the face to me… because I had expectations of seeing them even closer more often (do not get me wrong, I still did), but I mean for some particular species they really are living their fun life on the top of trees and you are not always the luckiest to see them so close 😉
“Live with no excuses and travel with no regrets” – Oscar Wild
You still see them, hear them sing and call each other, see them jump from one branch to another, it is still super magical and this IS the best way to experience it! With patience we had very close encounters too 😉, but just a few were seen best with our cameras.
You may think this was obvious, but it was not obvious for me before the trip, so a good lesson learned!
Lemur´s Park – Antananarivo
Having learned what I just described, I had mixed feelings about going to Lemur´s Park in my last day in Antananarivo (Madagascar´s capital) after the tour ended. But I did have a full day there so I went for it on my own.
I read everything I could about their conditions. The story is their lemurs are mainly rescued from people who used to ilegally own them. I choose to believe in such conditions it´s better they are in open space with habitats that emulate as much as possible their own -still, coming from the huge rainforests it did not feel enough-
However, no cages or anything like that, the place is fairly away from the city, nature has been “created” over the years, for example bamboo trees as they have have bamboo lemurs, but it still feels small vs. the inmensity of their true habitat.
Next to the reserve there is a river. Lemurs don’t swim so even if they wanted to “escape”, they would not due to the river. I felt a little punch when I learned this..
On the other hand, if these buddies were mistreated and now they get half of their food from a natural environment + some food provided by the reserve to complement their diet, they are happy to be there. I think of it as a responsible zoo -from the perspective of taking care of them- but I promise they were not in cages but they are really free to move everywhere in the park having plenty of trees and other resting areas for them.
Conclusion:
Other than the “only 5 hectares” size of the park, I did not see any evidence of mistreatment or anything that would make me advice against it. Visitors are not allowed to feed them and lemurs are not forced to do any interactions with visitors either. I think it is ok as a bonus if you are already in Madagascar, but definitely the full experience should include hiking in the National Parks!
Oh my .. What a journey this was!
If you made it this far, thanks for reading. I will, for sure.. “read me” again over the years, that´s why I do this 😉
Cheers,
Nat
