LEAPIN’ LEMURS – THIS GUY’S ENDANGERED
We are going to
Madagascar this week to visit with the Alaotra,
or Bamboo Lemur, which is critically endangered due to its required, specialized
environment.
Photo credit: bbc.co
The Alaotra Lemur, also
known as the Alaotran Gentle Lemur, lives in a very small region of Madagascar,
specifically in the reed beds around Lac Alaotra, Madagascar’s largest lake. Although
there are other species of bamboo lemurs, the Alaotran Lemur is the only lemur
that is adapted to living in wetlands, specifically papyrus reeds, which are
also their main food source.
Photo credit: Phillip Harris
They grow to a length
of about sixteen inches with tails of about the same length and weigh approximately
three pounds. They have a dense wooly fur that is grayish in color with a reddish-brown
patch of fur on their heads. The population of the Alaotra Lemur is declining
due to habitat destruction. The area around the lake is being used for rice
production by humans, and much of that land has been cleared for rice paddies.
In 2003 Lac Alaotra was deemed a
protected area by the government of Madagascar. This protection is aimed at
ensuring conservation of the lake, marshes, and the surrounding watershed,
which are critical to the survival of the Alaotra Lemur.
Photo credit: via The Telegraph
It is important to
understand that the flora and fauna of Madagascar are unique due to the fact
that the island has been geographically isolated. It is also one of poorest
countries on the planet and its inhabitants have used the island’s resources to
the detriment of themselves and the natural wildlife that lives there. Obviously,
much of the native wildlife has been impacted, including the Alaotra Lemur. Lemurs
are endemic to Madagascar along with many species of amphibians and reptiles. This
makes Madagascar a ‘hotspot’ of biodiversity and it is like a petri dish in
that we can see exactly what our impact has on their environment. “For Madagascar, forest degradation was reported to have reached
up to 90% of its natural forests, leaving only 10%–15% in near natural
conditions as early as the end of the 1980s.” (Green, G.; Sussman, R.
Deforestation history of the eastern rain forests of Madagascar from satellite
images. Science 1990, 248, 212–215. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
[PubMed])
I am including a video
that is a bit longer than many I have posted before. I thought this was an
important video to share. It is narrated by natives of Madagascar and it shows
you their efforts to conserve the area around Lac Alaotra through education of
the local people, especially children.
Thank you so much for
visiting and for taking the time to learn about this critically endangered
lemur. Please share and feel free to leave a comment, and don’t forget to return
next week.
To learn more about
the critically endangered Alaotra Gentle Lemur, visit the following sites:
Jeanne E. Rogers, Award Winning
Author
The Sword of Demelza, The
Gift of Sunderland, and
One Hot Mess, A Child’s Environmental Fable
Where Endangered Animals Heroes Roam
the Pages!
To learn more about
me, visit my ‘author page’ on Amazon: http://bit.ly/authorJERogers
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