Ring-tailed lemurs are one of the most recognisable species of lemur (or anything, for that matter!). We encountered the first family group just minutes from the park office. I’m not sure why they’re called ring-tails, but there’s probably a good reason.
… and were then blessed with another four family groups within the space of about 400 metres:
It was wonderful just to sit and watch them:
Technically, you’re not supposed to get within 2 metres of a lemur. I assume this is for their protection. Thing is, nobody seems to have told the lemurs. This one jumped up right next to me on the rock I was leaning against – she was so close, I could have touched her:
Here’s another oustalet’s chameleon:
Interestingly, the male can only change between brown, black, grey and white whereas the female has a repertoire of all colours. Except purple. I’m guessing she never has a need for this, so hasn’t developed the ability. Oh, and contrary to popular belief, a chameleon doesn’t change colour to blend in with its surroundings – it’s colour reflects its mood (and varies by species, as each has a different repertoire of colours).
Males’ life expectancy is double that of the females’ 3 – 4 years (during which time they’ll give birth about three times).
They fed the chameleon. I’m not sure how I feel about this – I’m not sure it’s that much different to feeding wild lemurs, but maybe it has less impact on their natural behaviour because their range is so much smaller. These images were all taken within less than one second, giving a sense of how quick they are:
We’d booked a 90-minute “walk” and were accompanied by two spotters – one for lemurs and the other for chameleons. This struck me as odd considering that chameleons only move about 2 metres each night, so it’s probably not difficult to work out roughly where they’ll be. And in our case, the lemurs came to us. It was, of course, a ploy to get more tips, but the spotters clearly knew that they were pushing their luck!
I had to be dragged away from the lemurs. I could have watched them all day, but our time was up.
On the return journey, we were treated to a snake crossing our path (it’s in the top left quadrant):
Based on lemurs per Ariary, Anja reserve provided by far the best value – really glad we stopped here. Thanks for the advice, Jimmy 🙂
The zebu market had finished by the time we got back to Ambalavao, but we caught the main market which gave a completely different feel to the place compared to when we stopped here on the way down:
On the way, we’d passed through some amazing scenery, and more tribal villages:
… where one particular group was honoured with some Rudy magic. We’d stopped for a photo opportunity when the inevitable request for a photo came in. Often, they’ll persuade you to take a photo of them and sometimes then ask for payment. Rudy has developed a highly effective strategy – he agrees… and then gives them his camera and invites them to take a photo of us!
As he signalled to the man to take his camera, the face of the boy next to him lit up, mistakenly thinking he was the subject of Rudy’s offer. His friends laughed as Rudy put his camera strap around the neck of the man. But I quietly and discretely signalled to Rudy to offer the boy and, after sharing the man’s photo, he put the camera round the boy’s neck. The laughing suddenly stopped.
Everyone was happy, and we got two photos:
A wonderfully lemury day 😀
And today’s BOTD is, without a doubt, these incredible creations (and I can’t for the life of me remember what they’re called):
