August 25, 2008
· Filed under History, Madagascar, Nature, New Zealand
The weka: Nature's dumbest?
New Zealand
and Madagascar are similar in many respects. Both are large island nations in the southern hemisphere. Both split off from their respective mainlands tens of millions of years ago, and are populated with a fascinating variety of plants and animals found nowhere else on earth. In both places, the survival of these native plants and animals is threatened by species introduced by humans, who arrived only within the last two thousand years. And both islands are far colder during the winter months than any civilized place has a right to be. But there is an intriguing difference between New Zealand and Madagascar—in New Zealand, the birds became mammals, while in Madagascar, the mammals became birds.
In New Zealand, with the exception of two bats, there were never any land mammals. The role of grazing and ground foraging was taken over by birds. Because these birds were not troubled by predators, many became flightless and dimwitted, like the weka. In Madagascar on the other hand, though there are plenty of birds, the task of dispersing the seeds of rainforest plants has largely been taken over by lemurs! And since lemurs are far more hesitant than birds to stray far from their rainforest surroundings, this means that a patch of land in Madagascar must be very near existing rainforest to regenerate rainforest “naturally.”
August 22, 2008
· Filed under Madagascar, Nature · Tagged Madagascar, Nature
Verreaux Sifaka, mother and child
I love observing animals in the wild. And for a wild animal lover, Madagascar is tops:
Final tally of lemurs observed in the wild
Common brown lemur
Indri
Ring-tailed lemur
Verreaux’s sifaka
Red-fronted brown lemur
Grey mouse lemur
White-footed sportive lemur
Pale fork-marked lemur
Red-tailed sportive lemur
Noteworthy non-lemur wildlife observed in the wild
Chameleons large and small
A frog with translucent skin and blue bones
A snake which jumped fully off the ground
Madagascar hissing cockroach
Bird of paradise
Narrow-striped mongoose
Fossa
Whales (humpbacks or southern rights) jumping clear out of the water
Sea hares
Noteworthy wildlife observed in captivity
A mouse lemur named after my boss: Microcebus mittermeieri
A Nile crocodile covered in bird poop
A (reputedly) 200-year old Aldabra tortoise
Radiated tortoise
August 22, 2008
· Filed under Madagascar, Nature · Tagged Madagascar, Nature
The fossa is an animal with the body of a cat and the face of a dog. Its nearest relative is in fact the mongoose. It is generally an elusive forest predator. At Kirindy Forest, in western Madagascar, there is a fossa who predates on the camp chickens, the camp tuna fish, and so forth. This fossa is not elusive. He put on a good show, skulking about camp while I photographed. Steve, a Brit I met at Kirindy, found fossa pawprints on his bed and his cell phone missing. Could the fossa have predated the cell phone?
Fact: According to my guidebook, the fossa has the largest penis bone in relation to its size of any mammal, and can copulate for six hours straight.
August 22, 2008
· Filed under Madagascar, Nature · Tagged Madagascar, Nature
Ring-tailed lemur in cactus
In the old colonial days, brothers Henri and Alain de Heaulme acquired one hundred square miles of southern Madagascar. Ninety nine of these square miles were turned into a profitable sisal plantation. One square mile of the original forest was preserved, and remains preserved to this day. Strolling through Berenty Private Reserve is a unique wildlife experience. Because the lemurs of Berenty were never hunted or harassed, they are not afraid of humans as in the national parks. Because the tourists were until recently encouraged to feed bananas to the lemurs, the curious ring-tailed lemurs approach within petting distance. Teddy bear-like Verreaux’s sifakas bounce by as if on pogo sticks. On a night walk through the spiny forest, we spot the glowing red eyes of mouse lemurs and sportive lemurs. The most delightful thing about lemurs is that they seem to have pleasant personalities, unlike their snarling, aggressive monkey cousins.
