Patricia Taylor, age 12, of Richmond, Virginia, for her question:
What are the lemur animals like?
On their island home of Madagascar, the lemurs take the place of monkeys. They are classified in the Primate Order of animals, along with the true monkeys and the great apes. But the charming little lemurs seem to be somewhat overawed by their classification among the most advanced creatures of the animal kingdom.
The monkey world is full of surprises and are often introduced to strange ones that we never knew existed. For this reason, you might suspect that a newly introduced lemur is just another kind of monkey. Chances are, he is fluffier and prettier than most monkeys, and his long muzzle bears some resemblance to a fox. But he has a monkey type body, with monkey hands and feet. In most cases he has a long monkey type body, with monkey hands and feet. And, like the monkeys, he dwells aloft in the tall trees, swooping from bough to bough like a circus acrobat. The lemur has a lot to say for him¬self, but his language is very, very different from monkey chatter.
The true lemurs, and there are a lot of them, live on the island of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. They were named lemurs because the word means ghost. The large numbers and varieties of lemurs are real enough, but their nocturnal habits earned, them their ghostly reputation.
If you do happen to be introduced to a lemur, you will notice that he has huge, misty eyes with a soft dreamy expression. Eyes of this type are made for night vision. In the daytime, when it is possible to peer up through the foliage of the jungle, no lemurs are around to be seen. Each one is nestled high in the branches, curled around like a kitten. He is fast asleep and if he happens to have a fluffy tail, chances are that it is wrapped around his face to shut out the sunshine.
During the daytime, all is quiet, in the lemur world. But oh, what a
change takes place when the sun goes down. Lemur voices fill the night with weird wails and scarey shrieks, with mournful moans and sorrowful groans. But if you gather enough courage to go searching for the source of these ghastly sounds, you will find nothing. The shy little lemurs swoop from shadow to shadow and hide in the jungle foliage until the coast is clear again. Then their disembodied ghostly clamor starts up again. On Madagascar, every night of the year is Halloween.
There are rat sized and cat sized lemurs and some that are three feet long, plus tail. Their soft silken coats are various shades of brown and gray. Some have artful patches of black and white and one has a whopping raccoon type tail. Their ghostly choruses are merely normal lemur chattering while the agile little acrobats are searching for fruits and nuts, bugs and bird eggs.
A mother lemur bears only one baby at a time. Mrs. Lemur bestows tender loving care upon her precious offspring. He clings to her soft fur with his tiny hands and goes wherever she goes. After a year, he is grown up and ready to make his own way in the world. Then his mother makes plans to bring forth another baby lemur.