One of the biggest threats to the population of this endangered species is large-scale cutting of bamboo trees, on which the Greater bamboo lemurs are dependent.The Lemur or Ring-tailed Lemur (Lemur Catta) is a large prosimian (representing forms that were ancestral to monkeys, apes and humans), belonging to the family Lemuridae’. Another serious concern is destruction of rainforests for slash-and-burn agriculture. Furthermore, localized hunting as well as habitat disturbance, fragmentation and destruction are compounded by very small natural range. Additionally, the Greater bamboo lemurs are unable to successfully breed due to living in small, isolated populations. On the other hand, some of these isolated populations in lowland areas are known to carry various parasites, threatening not only their health, but also lifespan. Population numberĪccording to the IUCN Red List, the total population of Greater bamboo lemurs is over 500 individuals, living in 11 subpopulations. Each of these subpopulations contains less than 250 adult lemurs. Overall, the population of Greater bamboo lemurs is decreasing today, and these animals are classified as Critically Endangered (CR) on the IUCN Red List. The role of Greater bamboo lemurs in the ecosystem of their habitat is insufficiently explored, although their diet allows them to serve as important seeds dispersers of some plants and primarily - bamboo. Possibly the world's fourth largest island, Madagascar is slightly larger than the state of California.Since the island divided from Africa around 160 million years ago, as much as 80% of its plant and animal species (including lemurs) are native and endemic exclusively to Madagascar. Riding on these rafts, some individuals take long trips of up to 270 miles from continental to the island.Ī study, published in 2010, has revealed that lemurs use ‘rafts’ of floating vegetation or driftwood to get to Madagascar. The word 'prosimian' literally means 'before monkeys'. ![]() The word 'lemur' means ‘ghost’ or ‘spirit of the dead’ in Latin.As a result, lemurs are currently found only in Madagascar.Īs a matter of fact, these animals once inhabited continental Africa, but were later displaced by monkeys - their main competitors for food. ![]() ![]() These animals are so called due to their specific vocalizations. These animals easily adapt to their environment.When first hearing the unusually loud, "eerie" shrieks of lemurs in the forest canopy, early explorers thought they had heard voices of spirits. If necessary, they are able to reduce their metabolism and reproduction rate.Wikimedia Commons Philip Lutley Sclater (left) and Ernst Haeckel. Lemuria theories first became popular in 1864, when British lawyer and zoologist Philip Lutley Sclater wrote a paper titled “The Mammals of Madagascar” and had it published in the The Quarterly Journal of Science. Sclater observed that there were many more species of lemur in Madagascar than there were in either Africa or India, thus claiming that Madagascar was the animal’s original homeland. Moreover, he proposed that what had allowed lemurs to first migrate to India and Africa from Madagascar long ago was a now-lost landmass stretching across the southern Indian Ocean in a triangular shape.
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