Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Brown mouse lemur
MOUSE LEMURS
(genus
Microcebus
) This group are the smallest of all primates:
the most minuscule is Madame Berthe's mouse lemur (
M. berthae
) which could sit in
aneggcupandweighs 30g.Asagroupthese are the most abundant type oflemur and
are generally common in virtually all native forests types, they even survive in some
forest fragments where other lemurs have disappeared. There are now a number of
species(18atthelastcount),whichmakesaccurateidentification confusinganddiffi-
cult. The easiest places to see them are Andasibe-Mantadia and Ranomafana National
Parks in the east and Ankarafantsika, Ankarana and Berenty Reserves in drier areas.
Greater dwarf lemur
DWARF LEMURS
(genera
Cheirogaleus, Mirza
and
Allocebus
) Dwarf lemurs are
mostly squirrel-sized and run along branches in a similar fashion. Some, like the fat-
tailed dwarf lemur (
Cheirogaleus medius
), become dormant during the winter, sleep-
ing in tree holes and surviving on reserves of fat stored in their tails. Dwarf lemurs
from the genus
Cheirogaleus
have distinctive dark spectacle-like rings around their
eyeswhichhelpsidentification.Giantdwarflemurs(genus
Mirza
)areunusualasthey
are sometimes predatory and eat baby birds, frogs, lizards and even small snakes. For
a long time it was through the hairy-eared dwarf lemur (
Allocebus trichotis
) was ex-
ceedingly rare, it now turns out to have been overlooked and is actually quite wide-
spread;itcanevenbeseeninAndasibe-Mantadia NationalPark.Itisaboutthesizeof
a large mouse lemur, but look out for its distinctive ear-tufts.
