THE WOODLY LEMURS

 

The woolly lemurs, also known as avahis or woolly indris, are nine species of strepsirrhine primates in the genus Avahi. Like all other lemurs, they live only on the island of Madagascar.

 

 With a body size of 30 to 50 cm and a weight of 600 to 1200 g, the woolly lemurs are the smallest indriids. Their fur is short and woolly.^[4] The body can be grey brown to reddish, with white on the back of the thighs,^[5] with a long, orange tail. The head is round with a short muzzle and ears hidden in the fur.

 

Woolly lemurs can be found in both humid and dry forests, spending most of their time in the leafy copse. Like many leafeaters, they need long naps to digest their food. Woolly lemurs live together in groups of two to five animals, which often consist of parents and several generations of their offspring.^[6]

 

Like all indriids, the woolly lemurs are strictly herbivorous, eating predominantly leaves, but also buds and, rarely, flowers.

 

Males and females live in pairs. Although likely, the presence of extrapair copulations (which exist in other pair-living nocturnal lemurs, e.g. the Masoala fork-marked lemur (Phaner furcifer)^[7] and the fat-tailed dwarf lemur (Cheirogaleus medius)^[8]) has never been demonstrated in Avahi species. The gestation 

 

period is four to five months, with births usually coming in September. In the first few months, the young rides on the back of its mother. After about six months, it is weaned, and can live independently after a year, although it will typically live for another year in proximity to its mother. Overall life expectancy is not known.

 

On November 11, 2005, a research team that discovered a new species of woolly lemur in 1990 in western Madagascar named the species, Bemaraha woolly lemur (Avahi cleesei), after actor John Cleese, in recognition of Cleese's work to save lemurs in the wild.^[9] In 2006, a taxonomic revision of eastern avahis 

 

 based on genetic and morphological analyses led to the identification of two extra species: A. meridionalis and A. peyrierasi.^[10] Further taxonomic revision increased the number of species, by adding A. ramanantsoavana and A. betsileo.^[11] Finally a new species was discovered in the Masoala peninsula, Moore's woolly lemur (A. mooreorum).^[12]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Combined distribution of Avahi^[2]

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE BLUE -EYED BLACK LEMURS

 

The blue-eyed black lemur (Eulemur flavifrons), also known as the Sclater's lemur, is a species of true lemur. It can attain a body length of 39–45 cm (15–18 in), a tail length of 51–65 cm (20–26 in), a total length of 90–100 cm (35–39 in), and a weight of 1.8–1.9 kg (4.0–4.2 lb).^[4] Being a primate, it has strong hands with palms like a human, which have a rubbery texture to give it a firm grip on branches. Its tail is longer than its body and is non-prehensile.

 

Black-haired male, Bristol Zoo 

Like many of the species in the genus Eulemur, the blue-eyed black lemur is sexually dichromatic. Males are solid black in color, with the hairs sometimes tinged brown at the roots. Females are reddish-brown in color with their underside and outline of their face a lighter tan. They have a dark brown or gray muzzle and the back of their hands and feet are a similar dark color. Both sexes have blue eyes, hence the common name, and are one of the only primates other than humans to consistently have blue eyes. The eyes can range in color from a shocking electric blue, a light sky-blue, or a softer gray-blue.

 

Although the blue-eyed black lemur and the black lemur look similar, they can be differentiated by the blue eyes and lack of prominent ear tufts of this species, while the black lemur has orange-red eyes and long, spiky cheek hairs. In the Manongarivo Special reserve, where the range of the two species overlap, there is a report of hybridization between the two species, but the resulting offspring always have orange eyes. Until 2008, the blue-eyed black lemur was considered a subspecies, E. macaco flavifrons, of the 

 

 The species has not been studied intensively in the wild, but it is known to be fairly social. Group sizes vary from four to eleven individuals on average. Females are dominant as in most lemur species, and there are usually more males than females in each social group. The blue-eyed black lemur is thought to be  

 

polygynous. Females give birth to one or two offspring in June or July, after a gestation of 120 to 129 days. The young are weaned after about 5–6 months, and reach maturity at about 2 years of age. It may live between 15 and 30 years in captivity, with little data recorded on their longevity in the wild. It demonstrates a cathemeral activity pattern, being awake sporadically throughout the day. The occasional nighttime activities are thought to be based on the intensity of the moonlight.^[1]

 

The blue-eyed black lemur communicates with scent-marking, vocalizations, and perhaps some facial expressions. Scent marking is an important means of communication as with most lemur species. Both genders will mark on trees with anogenital glands, while males will also mark using wrist and palm glands 

 

by rubbing and twisting them against leaves, twigs or branches. Males also use a scent gland on the top of their head to mark, lowering their head and rubbing in quick sliding motions.^[5] Little is known of its vocalizations, but it has been observed making a variety of grunts, chirps, barks and clicks. The males are known to make a sharp 'scree' when distressed.

 

The blue-eyed black lemur has also been observed to be a highly aggressive species. There is frequent infighting between troop members, especially during the breeding and birthing seasons. In captivity it has been observed committing infanticide against other species of lemurs, a behavior that is usually uncommon, especially in captivity.

Fruit, pollen, and nectar make up the bulk of this lemur's diet. During the dry season when food is scarce it may eat leaves, seeds and berries and rarely insects. It may also raid farmlands and eat some of the crops, which may lead to it being shot by farmers.^[6]

 

The blue-eyed black lemur helps propagate many rain forest plants. Since it digests the flesh but not the seeds of the fruits it eats, it spreads the seeds of more than 50 different plant species (deposited in a fresh pile of fertilizer), and some plants may have evolved specifically to be dispersed by this lemur.^[7] The blue-eyed black lemur also pollinates many plants while it eats nectar and pollen from the plants' flowers.^[6]

The blue-eyed black lemur inhabits primary and secondary sub-tropical moist and dry forests in the northwestern tip of Madagascar. Its range extends from the Andranomalaza River in the north, to the Maevarano River in the south. Some areas where it can readily be seen are in the forests south of Maromandia near Antsiranana. It may also be seen in the remaining forest patches of the Sahamalaza Peninsula, such as the Ankarafa forest.^[1]

Humans have cut down almost all of this species' habitat to clear farm land. As a result, the blue-eyed black lemur is nearly extinct in the wild. The blue-eyed black lemur is listed on Appendix I of CITES, and is critically endangered.^[1] As few as 1,000 individuals are thought to remain in the wild, largely due to slash and burn habitat destruction, as well as a mild threat from hunting problems.

 

 

Distribution of E. flavifrons^[1]

 

THE BROWN LEMURS

 

True lemurs, also known as brown lemurs, are the lemurs in genus Eulemur. They are medium-sized primates that live exclusively on Madagascar.

 

The fur of the true lemurs is long and usually reddish brown. Often, sexual dimorphism in coloration (sexual dichromatism) is seen, such as in the black lemur. True lemurs are from 30 to 50 cm (12 to 20 in) in length, with a tail that is as long or significantly longer than the body. They weigh from 2 to 4 kg (4 to 9 lb).

 

 

True lemurs are predominantly diurnal forest inhabitants, with some species preferring rain forests, while others live in dry forests. They are skillful climbers and can cross large distances in trees by jumping, using their nonprehensile tails to aid in balancing. When on the ground, they move almost exclusively on all four legs. True lemurs are social animals and live together in groups of two to 15 members.

 

The diet of the true lemurs is almost exclusively herbivorous - flowers, fruits and leaves. In captivity, they have been shown to also eat insects.

 

 

Gestation is 125 days. During the summer or early fall (shortly before the beginning of the rainy season), the females birth their young, usually two offspring. The young clasp firmly to the fur of their mother, 

 

then ride on her back when they are older. After about five months, they are weaned, and they are fully mature around 18 months of age. The life expectancy of the true lemurs can be up to 18 years, but this can be longer in captivity.

 

 

 

 

Range of the fulvus group: red = E. fulvus, green = E. collaris, purple = E. rufus, orange = E. cinereiceps, blue = E. rufifrons, yellow = E. albifrons, brown = E. sanfordi

Range of the other Eulemur: red = E. rubriventer, green = E. mongoz, purple = E. coronatus, orange = E. flavifrons, blue = E. macaco

Common brown lemur (E. fulvus) female with juvenile

References

THE SPRIPE- NECKED MONGOOSE

 

The stripe-necked mongoose (Urva vitticolla) is a mongoose species native to forests and shrublands from southern India to Sri Lanka.^[1]

English zoologist Edward Turner Bennett described this species in 1835. There are two subspecies. U. vitticolla vitticolla is from the provinces of Western Ghats, Coorg and Kerala, and has more of a reddish tint to its fur. The other, U. vitticolla inornata, is found in the Kanara province, and lacks a reddish tint to its fur.^[3]

 It is rusty brown to grizzled grey, has a stout body and short legs, a black stripe that runs laterally on both sides of its neck. Its short tail is mostly black, but grey at the base. Head to body length is

It is diurnal and feeds on frogs, crabs, mouse deer, black naped hares, rodents, fowl, and reptiles. It generally avoids human habitation. They usually inhabit in riparian habitats or near abandoned tanks. In Sri Lanka, they are sparsely found within protected ranges such as national parks and sanctuaries. However, populations are commonly found over 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Stripe-necked mongoose range

 

 

 

THE AFRICAN PALM CIVET

 

The African palm civet (Nandinia binotata), also known as the two-spotted palm civet, is a small feliform mammal widely distributed in sub-Saharan Africa. It is listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List.^[1] It is the sole member of the superfamily Nandinioidea and the most genetically isolated carnivoran.

 

The African palm civet is grey to dark brown with dark spots on the back. It has short legs, small ears, a lean body, and a long, ringed tail. It has two sets of

 

The African palm civet ranges throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa from Guinea to South Sudan, south to Angola, and into eastern Zimbabwe. It has been recorded in deciduous forests, lowland rainforests, gallery and riverine forests, savanna woodlands, and logged forests up to an elevation of 2,500 m (8,200 ft).^[1]

 

In the 1950s, one individual was wild-caught on Bioko Island.^[5] However, it was not recorded on the island during subsequent surveys between 1986 and 2015.^[6] In Guinea's National Park of Upper Niger, it was recorded during surveys conducted in 1996 to 1997.^[7] In Senegal, it was observed in 2000 in  

 

Niokolo-Koba National Park, which encompasses mainly open habitat dominated by grasses.^[8] In Gabon's Moukalaba-Doudou National Park, it was recorded in forested areas during a camera-trapping survey in 2012.^[9] In Batéké Plateau National Park, it was recorded only west of the Mpassa River during surveys carried out between June 2014 and May 2015.^[10] In Liberian Upper Guinean forests, it was sighted in Gbarpolu County and Bong County during surveys in 2013.^[11]

 

 

The African palm civet is a nocturnal, largely arboreal mammal that spends most of the time on large branches, among lianas in the canopy of trees. It eats fruits such as those of the African corkwood tree (Musanga cecropioides), Uapaca, persimmon (Diospyros hoyleana), fig trees (Ficus), papayas (Carica papaya), and bananas (Musa).^[13]

 

In Gabon, females were recorded to give birth in the long wet season and at the onset of the dry season between September and January.^[13] The female usually gives birth after a gestation period of 2–3 months. A litter consists of up to four young that are suckled for around three months. While she has suckling young, the female's mammary glands produce an orange-yellow liquid, which discolours her abdomen and the young civets' fur. This probably discourages males from mating with nursing females.^{[citation needed]} Its generation length is 7.8 years.^[14]

In 1830, John Edward Gray first described an African palm civet using the name Viverra binotata based on a zoological specimen obtained from a museum in Leiden.^[15]

In 1929, Reginald Innes Pocock proposed the family Nandiniidae, with the genus Nandinia as sole member. He argued that it differs from the Aeluroidea by the structure and shape of its ear canal and mastoid part of the temporal bone.^[4]

 

 

Results of morphological and molecular genetic analyses indicate that it differs from viverrids and diverged from the Feliformia about 44.5 million years ago,^[17] It is the most genetically isolated Carnivoran, being the only species within its superfamily as a whole.

 

 The African palm civet is threatened by habitat loss and hunting for bushmeat.^[1] In 2006, an estimated more than 4,300 African palm civets are hunted yearly in the Nigerian part and around 3,300 in the Cameroon part of the Cross–Sanaga–Bioko coastal forests.^[18]

 

 In Guinea, dead African palm civets were recorded in spring 1997 on bushmeat market in villages located in the vicinity of the National Park of Upper Niger.^[19] Dried heads of African palm civets were found in 2007 at the Bohicon and Dantokpa Markets in southern Benin, suggesting that they are used as fetish in animal rituals.^[20] The attitude of rural people in Ghana towards African palm civets is hostile; they consider them a menace to their food resources and safety of children.^[21] In Gabon, it is among the most frequently found small carnivores for sale in bushmeat markets.^[22] Upper Guinean forests in Liberia are considered a biodiversity hotspot. They have already been fragmented into two blocks. Large tracts are threatened by commercial logging and mining activities, and are converted for agricultural use including large-scale oil palm plantations in concessions obtained by a foreign company.^[11]

 

 

 

 

 

 

        African Palm Civet (Nandinia binotata) range, with colonial borders added