Animals,  Madagascar,  Postcards from the road

A postcard from Madagascar: black and white ruffed lemur

November 4, 2023 / 51 Comments
Black and white ruffed lemur

I couldn’t come to Madagascar and not share a virtual postcard of a lemur!

I photographed this black and white ruffed lemur on Lemur Island, a private reserve in the grounds of one of the Andisibe lodges. The lemurs who live here, of several species, are second generation descendants from the island’s original inhabitants. The latter were rescued from captivity as pets and released on this island.

The lemurs who live on Lemur Island are free to live a ‘normal’ life but can’t leave the island, so are helped by being fed fruit to supplement their diet. They are habituated to their human visitors. However touching them or feeding them by hand isn’t allowed, even more so since the Covid pandemic as they are susceptible to the disease. Instead our guide smeared some banana on to nearby tree trunks which was eagerly devoured.

This particular lemur posed beautifully for us, hanging from trees and jumping between them, on one occasion just above my head.

51 Comments

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