crazietalk.net

TillyGalore wrote:

ILoveJimmy wrote:Lavabe called me this morning while standing in the ocean. He was on the edge of a sacred forest where there are both crowned and Sanford's lemurs, but no potable water. He said his group passed several areas where forests had been in 2004 and are no more. They have been decimated by loggers. But he was very eager to report that lemurs do exist at the beach and he was there to see it. His tent was actually set up on the beach! Now that's the group he should have picked to study when I was there!!

ILJ

That is awesome!! I am more jealous of him now that the rest of his trip.

The downside: the mud, mosquitoes, itchy plants, and dehydration should scare you off.

OZZIE4DUKE wrote:

Lavabe wrote: Prominent primatologist: "You realize that this is the first reported case of polyspecific associations among the prosimians?"
Lavabe: "Uhh... (insert twenty minute pause... well, it felt like twenty minutes, but it was really only about 2 seconds)... yeah."

Combining this fact with Cathy's question about who names the lemur types, if these Polyspecific associations lead to, um baby polyspecific associations, who names the cross-breads? Will they become Lavabe Lemurs?!!!!!!!

I recognize the joke in the post. Just a point of clarification: these are still two distinct species, and cannot reproduce and have fertile offspring.

Thanks for your wonderful narratives. I hope someone gets a video of you bargaining with the lemurs to get pictures for water. ;)

CathyCA wrote:The only lemurs I've seen have been in captivity, so I'm also wondering how they behave in the wild, in their native habitat. Do they approach you? Do they run away from you like the squirrels and bunny rabbits when you approach them in the back yard? I could never get a good picture of one--stupid cage wire obscures the lemur, and I observed that many kept their backs to us as we toured the facility. Do they hide from you? Are they good at camouflage? Some of them are very small. I'm wondering how you're able to get an accurate count of the lemurs, and how you're able to take their pictures.

You really don't want them to approach you, unless you know for sure that they are not hunted. And you also don't want them to change their behavior in your presence. If you want to study their behavior, you select a proper site where you can control the hunting issue. Then you find your group, and follow them continuously, until they accept you. If the group gets used to you in 5-10 minutes, you have a GOOD habitat. We were lucky when I started my work 20 yuears ago. 5-15 minutes to have the lemurs used to your presence, without changing their behavior. Some of my friends tell me it takes them 4 months to get their primates habituated to their presence. Gorillas are even harder to habituate.

To give you a feel of how habituated they are at my field site, on ILJ's first day out with me in 1991, she was eating her lunch while a juvenile crowned lemur just slept a few inches above her shoulder.

Some lemurs are quite small (at 1.5 kg, crowned lemurs are among the smallest of the Lemur/Eulemur species), but you get used to their habits, and look for specific things they do. You can find them. But there's no guarantee that they will get habituated to you, and that means LITTLE chance of getting good photos.

As for getting counts, at my field site, I could habituate each group without any trouble. After that, it's a matter of recognizing each face in the forest. If you're used to portrait photography, you can do this. So at my site, I could get accurate counts.

In survey work, it's a whole 'nother ball game. If you go into each forest, it's really hit or miss if you'll find a group, and you may be wasting good opportunities to find total numbers of groups. And in the case of crowned lemurs, at this time of the year, they often spend much of the day in very small subgroups. I actually am using a technique that doesn't involve going into each forest to see them. Both species I study make distinct dusk calls that carry a good distance. Basically, I set up at the end of the day in an open area near the forest where I can get maximum forest coverage. I then listen, and can pretty much pinpoint where the groups are. Armed with a rough idea what average group size is, I can make a rough estimate of a population, but not entirely with the greatest precision. On the other hand, I don't disturb the forest, I can move rapidly from one forest to another, and state where the lemurs are with more accuracy. I can also devote more time to describing the forest habitat, and spend time finding out local people's perspectives on things.

Whoops... I better save the thorough description of this for a scientific paper.
Cheers,
Lavabe

Well, I now have some 11 days left in Madagascar, and here is the first thing I am going to miss out on:
FESTIVAL LIBERTALIA!!

Again, Libertalia was the pirate colony headquartered way back when where Antsiranana is now. The festival is a place guaranteed to see lots of people dressed up as PIRATES! Oh yeah, the 4-day festival starts three days after I leave.

BUMMER!!

Oh please...

Right now on Malagasy TV (regional version) is Super Star, the local Malagasy equivalent of American Idol. No judges, just call in telephone numbers for each contestant.

I would prefer to listen to Chloe and Moneypenny cough up a furball.

Some things should just NOT be on local TV.

Lavabe wrote:Oh please...

Right now on Malagasy TV (regional version) is Super Star, the local Malagasy equivalent of American Idol. No judges, just call in telephone numbers for each contestant.

I would prefer to listen to Chloe and Moneypenny cough up a furball.

Some things should just NOT be on local TV.

All I can say is WOW.

Latest photo albums on FB: The forest of Mananara (with a special shoutout to Ima & ImaDaughter... you ARE here in Madagascar), the secret forest (the one that doesn't appear on the map), the 7 1/2 mile walk (inspired by a CT comment from wilson), and soon to go up, the sacred forest.

I think at the end of all of this, I'll put up a poll as to favorite photo. Frankly, it will be hard to top the cover photo of the 7 1/2 mile walk... unless I get a killer shot the next two days.

Ah yes... tomorrow morning, I go to the last forest in which I need to survey, a sacred forest in the Cap d'Ambre. It'll be 1 or 2 nights with my assistant, Philippe, and with a Brit, Andrew, who may be using my methodology to look for both species in an area I simply can't get to. I am hoping to get some lemur photos, but I can't guarantee it, Bones.

I will probably return on Wednesday after an early morning pirogue trip.

Cheers,
Lavabe

Lavabe, your photos are stunning! Love the landscape shots that capture that beautiful blue sky; and your portraits really seem to capture the eyes of the person very well.

Do you have a GPS tracker with you? I believe you do, b/c ILJ posted some GPS coordinates from you. Will you be putting together a tracking map that will show us the routes of your wanderings? (Pretty please?)

Do you know anything about the textile industry of Madagascar? I ask b/c my husband noticed that his new Eddie Bauer shirt was made there. If the industry is leading to deforestation, I'll be returning the shirt....

Thanks DA! When I first started photographing, I specialized on lemur portraits. This trip has brought me back to my roots in portrait photography, but it's also given me the chance to really nail down anthropological photography. I was talking with someone today about it. He seemed to feel that he had to practically catch people by surprise to catch them being themselves. I disagreed completely. I think if you actually talk with the people, and settle them down, explaining WHY you are taking the photos, they really get a sense of what a photo should be. In my case, I try to explain that my friends, family, and students have NO concept of what life and people are like over here. When I explain that, and why I post the photos, they immediately relax, and want to show folks what they are all about. I don't take any photos of people who don't want them. But usually, what happens is that folks LOVE seeing the digital image on the camera. It makes a GREAT difference, and it usually opens up more smiles with each succeeding photo. CBaB mentioned that I seemed to make people laugh over here. He might be right to some extent, but I think ILJ has a good sense that most of these people have a wonderful sense of humor. And they truly appreciate when you act humbly and express yourself truthfully.

The landscape photos seem to be working out as well. I have to say that the two Tamron lenses really have made a difference: one is for portraits, one is for landscapes. I am having a blast with them. The one lens that I need to use, however, is ready to be used big time on the next trip. It's the reason I went with this Canon digital; the lens is an 80-200mm f2.8 Canon, and weighs like 5 or 6 pounds. I've used it on the photo of the drongo, mostly as a test. I can't wait to use it for its intended purpose... the lemurs.

I carry a Garmin GPSMap 76S GPS ... and I have another as a backup. I don't routinely need to get coordinates over every path, as the major paths we use for hiking between forests are already on the map. It also eats up battery power when used in this sort of fashion. But as we get into forest, I use it extensively. I have posted all of my forest coordinates in each album, except for the sacred forest album. Armed with all of the coordinates, we can then review the history of these forests using aerial photos that date back into the late 1940's. I will, however, try to create a diagram that shows where I've been in both 2004 & 2009... but I'll have to do that in September, once I am back in the US.

Cheers,
Lavabe

DevilAlumna wrote:Do you know anything about the textile industry of Madagascar? I ask b/c my husband noticed that his new Eddie Bauer shirt was made there. If the industry is leading to deforestation, I'll be returning the shirt....

No, the industry is not leading to deforestation. It's one of the few that is not, and it is responsible for 6-7% of the country's GDP. In fact, according to one news source I read, it may be what's responsible for the sudden change in the new government's desire to have elections by the end of the year. The US has threatened to remove Madagascar's non-tariffed textile status if the government didn't push for free, democratic elections sooner than the originally scheduled end of 2010 date. If the US does it, than the EU will follow suit. That could be devastating to the country's economy.

What's more damaging to the environment is the high price of corn (thank you ethanol), the high price of hardwoods, and sometimes the high price of gemstones (especially sapphires). I am also thinking after this trip that some elements of the tourist industry are creating more demands for hardwoods, and roads leading to hardwoods... but that's a discussion for another day. ;)

Cheers,
Lavabe

Just posted the last of the four albums from the previous survey. WHEW!! Now I have to pack for the next trip which leaves tomorrow morning around 930AM. I think I'll be back in a couple of days. Looks like I won't need to take a pirogue after all.

Maybe, Bones, I'll get a lemur photo in the next place. That will be the last chance for me to do it. The pressure is on!!

Cheers,
Lavabe

Lavabe wrote:Just posted the last of the four albums from the previous survey. WHEW!! Now I have to pack for the next trip which leaves tomorrow morning around 930AM. I think I'll be back in a couple of days. Looks like I won't need to take a pirogue after all.

Maybe, Bones, I'll get a lemur photo in the next place. That will be the last chance for me to do it. The pressure is on!!

Cheers,
Lavabe

You need to write a book. Seriously.

Or a collection of short stories.

devildeac wrote:

Lavabe wrote:Just posted the last of the four albums from the previous survey. WHEW!! Now I have to pack for the next trip which leaves tomorrow morning around 930AM. I think I'll be back in a couple of days. Looks like I won't need to take a pirogue after all.

Maybe, Bones, I'll get a lemur photo in the next place. That will be the last chance for me to do it. The pressure is on!!

Cheers,
Lavabe

You need to write a book. Seriously.

Or a collection of short stories.

I'd buy it. Who else is in?

ArkieDukie wrote:

devildeac wrote: You need to write a book. Seriously.

Or a collection of short stories.

I'd buy it. Who else is in?

I'd buy several copies so I could give to various family members for assorted holidays/special occasions.

(the smilies are to alert the uninformed of a "family-type" joke here...) :roll:

I visited the zoo yesterday with some friends and got to see the lemurs in the children's zoo. They're fascinating to watch, but I couldn't help but think that it would be even better to observe them in their natural habitat rather than in a big cage.

devildeac wrote:

ArkieDukie wrote:

devildeac wrote: You need to write a book. Seriously.

Or a collection of short stories.

I'd buy it. Who else is in?

I'd buy several copies so I could give to various family members for assorted holidays/special occasions.

(the smilies are to alert the uninformed of a "family-type" joke here...) :roll:

let me guess: you'd be giving at least one of them to your brother-in-law?

ArkieDukie wrote:I visited the zoo yesterday with some friends and got to see the lemurs in the children's zoo. They're fascinating to watch, but I couldn't help but think that it would be even better to observe them in their natural habitat rather than in a big cage.

Next time perhaps you could go as part of Team Lavabe as his domestique... :oops: :roll:

Oh, wait a minute. Wrong Tour. :oops: :roll:

ArkieDukie wrote:

ArkieDukie wrote:

devildeac wrote:
I'd buy it. Who else is in?

I'd buy several copies so I could give to various family members for assorted holidays/special occasions.

(the smilies are to alert the uninformed of a "family-type" joke here...) :roll:

let me guess: you'd be giving at least one of them to your brother-in-law?

And to his wife and daughter

devildeac wrote:

ArkieDukie wrote:I visited the zoo yesterday with some friends and got to see the lemurs in the children's zoo. They're fascinating to watch, but I couldn't help but think that it would be even better to observe them in their natural habitat rather than in a big cage.

Next time perhaps you could go as part of Team Lavabe as his domestique... :oops: :roll:

Oh, wait a minute. Wrong Tour. :oops: :roll:

Team Lavabe needs someone in far better shape than I to lead the way. Although the weight loss feature of the trip does sound good. Lavabe, maybe you could run a weight loss camp to raise money for the next trip. :roll: