Lavabe's Madagascar 2009 Lemur Thread

[DukePA]

I am thoroughly enjoying this thread. Thanks again for sharing, Ben. I'm glad you'll be heading home a little early, but will certainly miss reading about your adventures.

[devildeac]

As I've mentioned on my FB site, I am heading home a week earlier than originally planned. Surveys and work have been going fast and effective. Unfortunately, part of it is due to the fact that there is more deforestation than originally estimated. However, all is fine with me, and the prospects for future behavioral work are great, especially at my former site and at a new site near the town of Andranofanjava.

On FB, I have posted photos of the Andranofanjava forest, the most recent survey, and hiking in this region. FWIW, the hiking is insane.

I think ILJ, LL, and Georgia the Wonderdog are happy to have me head home a little earlier than expected.

Cheers,
Lavabe

May you have an aisle/bulkhead or unexpectedly empty seat in front of you on your journey home...

[Sue71]

What is a polyspecific association of lemurs? What does that mean?

[Lavabe]

What is a polyspecific association of lemurs? What does that mean?

Ahh... from the science FB site. I better fix that.

Poly- = more than one
specific = species
association = group

So literally, you'll see a group of crowneds and Sanford's in the same group, feeding, foraging, traveling, resting, grooming, and even sometimes playing with each other. I documented this in my diss, and it marked the only reported case of this phenomenon among lemurs. Since I reported it, another colleague reports it with the same two species a little southeast of Mt. d'Ambre, where I did my field work. Literally, both species cooperate with each other more than they do with other groups of the same species. I would argue that this cooperation lets them survive in even the harshest habitats.

[Lavabe]

I am thoroughly enjoying this thread. Thanks again for sharing, Ben. I'm glad you'll be heading home a little early, but will certainly miss reading about your adventures.

I'm holding back about 100 or so stories that ILJ said I should have published a while ago. I've found that this trip has also brought some closure to a lot of these stories.

And if worse comes to worse, bring me a good brew for the next Brunchgate I attend, and I can tell a story.

[Lavabe]

May you have an aisle/bulkhead or unexpectedly empty seat in front of you on your journey home...

It's packed all the way home. I am, however, hoping for something else...

"We have overbooked this flight..."

[DukieInKansas]

May you have an aisle/bulkhead or unexpectedly empty seat in front of you on your journey home...

It's packed all the way home. I am, however, hoping for something else...

"We have overbooked this flight..."

May you be bumped to first class! You deserve it for the work you are doing for our world.

[cl15876]

I am thoroughly enjoying this thread. Thanks again for sharing, Ben. I'm glad you'll be heading home a little early, but will certainly miss reading about your adventures.

I'm holding back about 100 or so stories that ILJ said I should have published a while ago. I've found that this trip has also brought some closure to a lot of these stories.

And if worse comes to worse, bring me a good brew for the next Brunchgate I attend, and I can tell a story.

Can't wait to hear them and read them! Safe travels! I bet you are excited to come home! It is always great to be doing things in the field, but after 10 days... .OMG, how I used to miss my family, especially my kiddos!

[DukePA]

I am thoroughly enjoying this thread. Thanks again for sharing, Ben. I'm glad you'll be heading home a little early, but will certainly miss reading about your adventures.

I'm holding back about 100 or so stories that ILJ said I should have published a while ago. I've found that this trip has also brought some closure to a lot of these stories.

And if worse comes to worse, bring me a good brew for the next Brunchgate I attend, and I can tell a story.

I'll bring a good brew with or without a story! If you publish the stories, can we be your pre-print readers?

I am getting so excited about football season and cannot wait to see the Lavabes and everyone else . I am sad that I won't be at the first Brunchgate 'cause I'm in a wedding, but plan to at every other home game and Tilly's party.

Go lemurs, Lavabe, and Duke!!!

[Lavabe]

Back in 1981, I simply wanted an "easier" double major to go with my computer science major. Because the computer science major then forced you to take six advanced courses in one other discipline, I chose anthropology because it shared the same building as computer science, I thought it would be easier, and my mom was taking a few anthro courses back in Jersey.

I failed my first physical anthropology test.

That's how I stumbled into my life as a primatologist, and why I am writing while waiting for a taxi-brousse to take me to another remote site. "Stumbling" is the appropriate word. I seem to do that a lot. I dehydrate in a remote forest, amidst itchy, spiny bushes, overheating, fearing the worst, and what do I see at eye level while lying down? An aye-aye mark. My mind immediately flashes to a 20-year-old conversation with Madame Aye-Aye who made me crystal clear as to what to look for to find evidence of aye-ayes. My mind gets engaged, adrenaline rushes, and I get better... and I get to report about it. Stumbling into a find. You call it luck, others call it divine intervention, but I call it stumbling.

You get used to stumbling when you're 6'7". The toeholds along the paths here are made for people with much smaller feet than I. I fall down on hills more than the Malagasy have seen from any person. The branches and fallen trees that cover the paths force me to duck while walking, which loosens my toeholds, which causes me to slip and bump my head. I bump it a lot. On the first time home from Beanamalao, way back with Mr. Baobab I hit my head some seven times, but it slowed me down, and I got to see seven groups of lemurs. I wouldn't have seen them had I gone at superfast Malagasy pace. Stumbling hurts, but it has its benefits.

Even the biggest behavioral find from my dissertation field work, polyspecific associations among the two lemurs, was a stumble. I had gotten so used to the fact that both lemur species actually sought one another's groups and formed larger groups that contained both species. I remember initially being intrigued by it the first time, that I figured out a way to record the behavior. I never really thought that much about it, but felt it should be in some remarks at presentations. I then later reported it at my first professional meeting after I returned home. The talk finished when it came time to answer questions. It went something like this:

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."
Moderator: "Next question?"

Clearly a stumble.

Stumbling can be dangerous, especially when slogging your way through an inundated rice field. Okay, that's not dangerous, it's just messy.

I really haven't run across too many dangerous stumbles. Then again, I don't do the stock market, and I don't serve drinks at the local coffee shop.

I met my wife by stumbling. There she was, swimming laps at the apartment pool, and I was waiting for my laundry next door. I saw her, and she asked who I was. I responded, and then said something like I was going to be around for only a few more weeks that summer. Oh yeah... good stumble. I hung around a little bit longer with her than expected, all due to a stumble. So yes, stumbling can have its rewards. And these rewards are lifelong.

I met all my friends in Joffreville by stumbling, by tipping over my dissertation advisor's wife's car. It brought out everyone. We had a LOT of time to share. It was a great entrance into the lives of the people in Joffreville. But that story is one for another day.

The time when I tried speaking Malagasy with a local on the path to my site, and I said that I really like eating leeches for lunch? Whoops... that was a stumble because I didn't know the right word. The guy later went to my camp with a 10 kilo sack of rice, some fruit, and veggies, and hoped that I would eat more normal food. Stumble. But wow... what a caring friend.

The thing about stumbling that I've grown to appreciate here in Madagascar is that it comes at little risk. It immediately humbles you, and you lose all air of power. You are not a colonial; you're a peasant. You are one with the people. People see your vulnerabilities, and of course, they poke fun at them in a gentle way. While waiting in the taxi-brousse, you'll hear the conversation move in your direction, and the inflections change. People start looking at you more, but without any of the stares that you might expect from strangers. The looks are usually teamed with grins, smiles, and laughs. And since you're in a taxi-brousse, you get touches. You are one of the people... unless you ride in the front.

So if you get a chance, don't be afraid to trip over your feet. Who knows?

[CathyCA]

Who named the lemurs? They certainly don't have Malagasy sounding names--especially not the Sanford's Lemur (reminds me of Uncle Terry!). Are the lemurs named after the European or American scientists who first identified them? Do any of them have Malagasy names?

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.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

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?!!!!!!!

[ILoveJimmy]

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

[CameronBornAndBred]

Thanks for the update ILJ, tell him not to drop his phone. It's too bad about the deforestation, but you find it everywhere. We make such a large deal about it in other countries and don't even seem to notice when the trees we grew up with and are familiar with are replaced with condos and shopping centers.

[TillyGalore]

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.

[CathyCA]

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

Lemurs at the beach! Awesome.

I'm wondering if they found no potable water, whether the lemurs will drink salt water from the ocean. Do lemurs have way of storing water, or must they have a certain amount of hydration each day? And how about the effect of the sun on the lemurs? I'm assuming that the forest canopy provides a level of protection from the sun, but at the beach, how do the lemurs protect themselves from the heat? (I'm imagining lemurs setting up beach chairs and umbrellas and toting a cooler of beer down toward the hard-packed sand where the ocean meets the beach.)

[Sue71]

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

Lemurs at the beach! Awesome.

I'm wondering if they found no potable water, whether the lemurs will drink salt water from the ocean. Do lemurs have way of storing water, or must they have a certain amount of hydration each day? And how about the effect of the sun on the lemurs? I'm assuming that the forest canopy provides a level of protection from the sun, but at the beach, how do the lemurs protect themselves from the heat? (I'm imagining lemurs setting up beach chairs and umbrellas and toting a cooler of beer down toward the hard-packed sand where the ocean meets the beach.)

Actually let me take this a step further... is potable water for lemurs the same as for humans, or can they tolerate water that we can't?

[Lavabe]

Once again, I'm back, bitten to shreds, muscle definitely pulled after today's experiment with mud skating, but on yet another adrenaline rush. The small world phenomenon happened again, and resulted in my best people photo. STILL no lemur photos, but I think I'll have a good response to BONES on that one.

Bad news on the beach lemur front: Plenty of lemurs, but: a) no source of drinking water; and b) too frickin' many mosquitoes that rule from 4PM to Midnight. And if the mosquitoes don't get you, the itchy plant, tankiltra, will. We mistimed low tide today, so the dry flats we had yesterday turned into mud paradise.

But still, quite a site... and quite a story to digest.

The incredible shrinking anthropologist is now 218 pounds. That's good news. I've stabilized, and only had a little dehydration from going to this site.

I am also going to try and digest all the good questions, and CBaB's comment (spot on) about deforestation in our own backyard. But let me address CathyCA very quickly by saying that when I first heard of Sanford's lemurs, I too thought of Uncle Terry... but it has nothing to do with him. Yes, it was named after some Western dude. Zaboomafoo is actually Coquerel's sifaka. It's a common routine. Having said that, most new species are given some reference to their source country. On the other hand, a new species of Avahi lemur was named after John Cleese.

Local names aren't much easier. I learned way back when that Sanford's were called Ankombabe (large lemur), but it wasn't until 2004 that I learned that the proper common name west and north of where I work is Barovaoko (bearded lemur). On this latest trip, crowned lemurs are known as ankomba fieky (banded or crowned lemur), but it may also be derived from the Antankarana phrase for savanna (the savanna lemur).

More later,
Lavabe

[Lavabe]

Actually let me take this a step further... is potable water for lemurs the same as for humans, or can they tolerate water that we can't?

The lemurs get drinking water in several ways: 1) if it rains (which it did last night), they'll be found licking leaves, and lapping up water from little nooks in trees; 2) they get water from the fruit they eat; and 3) during the rainy season, they can find standing pools of water or seasonal rivers. As it is the dry season, they really don't have any standing pools of fresh water.

Cheers,
Lavabe

[Lavabe]

I'm wondering if they found no potable water, whether the lemurs will drink salt water from the ocean. Do lemurs have way of storing water, or must they have a certain amount of hydration each day? And how about the effect of the sun on the lemurs? I'm assuming that the forest canopy provides a level of protection from the sun, but at the beach, how do the lemurs protect themselves from the heat? (I'm imagining lemurs setting up beach chairs and umbrellas and toting a cooler of beer down toward the hard-packed sand where the ocean meets the beach.)

No, they will not drink salt water from the ocean, but I have heard reports that occasionally they will lick salt from the leaves of trees in the mangroves. They don't have any true way of storing water, but maybe the salt intake question is something to consider.

They stay hydrated pretty well by relying on fruit (it's 98% of their diet), keeping in the shade (and their fruit trees, including tamarinds, are EXCELLENT for that), staying well below the canopy, and changing their activity cycle (more daytime siestas, being a little more active at night). If it is too cool (for example, the beginning of the day), you will see lemurs sun themselves, thus raising their body temperature.

That or they could always ask me for a little drink of my water. Some water for a few photos sounds like a good trade by me!
Cheers,
Lavabe