Another amazing day. I just can't stop expressing how valuable this experience is turning out to be, and how much I am learning - it's so great. The red-ruffed lemurs were the best part of the day (as always), I had some new encounters with them today which were awesome. Slowly, I'm getting to know each one's distinctive personality which makes me adore them that much more. In the afternoon, one of the last stops of the day is a short boat ride back to lemur island. This is a nice stop because all the 'dirty work' has been done for the day, we take care of all that in the a.m. The second visit is when I have a chance to hand feed each lemur, and on occasion, bond with them :-) They will accept grapes, mangos, apple pieces and once in a great while leafeater biscuits, right from your hand. Well today, they did more than just accept my offering of afternoon snacks. Pia is the dominant female of the bunch (yes, in the world of lemurs, the girls are completely in charge). Well, I'm holding the tupperware container filled with fruits, handing it out piece by piece to each lemur (6 total). She's grabbing my hand with her little hand, pulling the container in her direction to try and hog all the food! It was so sweet because this is considered to be "aggressive" behavior for lemurs. I politely, yet sternly, instructed little miss thing to wait her turn to which she obliged. They are such wonderful creatures. When all the fruit was gone and I evenly distributed the boring vegetable portion of their diet to each night house stall, I figured I'd see if they'd accept some gatorade-soaked biscuits from me by hand. Sure enough, they came right up to me and took each one I offered. This time, Ankavia (second in ranking to Pia of the females) did the same hand-grabby thing! She just wouldn't let go - It was so amazing. Comet (a male) came up next so I had three of them with me on the ground, just hangin out and eating snacks. I decided to go ahead and attempt to pet Comet since they seemed so at ease with me and I'd heard he was cool with that sort of thing, so I reached out and he just sat there and let me! Oh man, it was an unforgettable experience! There seem to be many of those in this line of work :-)
Another notable event of the day is that I fed little mr. ringtail cat for the first time. I handed him a couple of grapes which he snatched very quickly. I guess we're just supposed to set them in his little house instead of let him take them directly from our hand - he's not quite as gentle as the lemurs and has a rather dagger-like set of canines. I presume I was lucky not to lose the tip of a finger.
PICTURES, FACTS & ANECDOTES:
RED RUFFED LEMUR (Varecia variegata rubra)
Blue ear tag, one of the boys. such a sweet face.
Red Ruffed Lemurs are herbivores, feeding primarily on fruits, leaves and seeds in their natrual home in Madagascar. At the Zoo, they are fed a similar diet which includes vegetables and "leafeater" biscuits as well. Though the teeth may look menacing in the picture above, they actually are not at all dangerous. Since they cannot manipulate their fingers well, their six bottom teeth form a "toothcomb" that they use for grooming themselves and other members of their group. Red Ruffed Lemurs have a specialized claw on the second toes of their hind feet which they also use to brush their coat.
There are two subspecies of ruffed lemur; the Red ruffed and the black & white ruffed. Red ruffed are bigger, weighing 7-10lbs. The life expectancy of the ruffed lemur in the wild is 15-20yrs and can be longer in zoos. Like all lemurs, the ruffed lemurs can only be found on the Island of Madagascar, off the south-east coast of Africa. They live in groups of 2-10 individuals, traveling and resting high up in the forest canopy. They are crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk) and arboreal (tree dwelling).
It is quite an opportunity to get to work with these animals since Red ruffed lemurs are critically endangered in the wild due to deforestation, trapping and hunting. They are protected under Appendix 1 of CITES (Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species). Estimates suggest there are perhaps as few as 1,000 Red ruffed lemurs left in the wild.
And yet more pics of the darlings from last sunday:
Beautiful Ankavia. She is the second most dominant female of the group, and seems to enjoy grabbing my arm when I feed her.
3 little lemurs, eating from the bin...so precious.
whatcha got there? mangos?
oooh, just grapes. I'll take one anyway.
ahem, do you mind?
aaah, a morning stroll.
who? where?
Ear Tags:
Red - Comet (m)
Green - (m)
Blue - (m)
Pink - Pia (f) (Ranking = 1)
Yellow - Ankavia (f) (Ranking = 2)
No Tag - (f) (Ranking = 3)
