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P A G E 3
V O L . 3 , N O . 1
F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4
more. Interestingly, neither species
belong to the “currently listed as
present in Marojejy”,
Cheirogaleus
major
.
Another interesting aspect of
Marojejy’s geographic position, i.e.
northeastern Madagascar, is that it
can represent the northeastern-most
distributional boundary of a third
dwarf lemur species, the fat-tailed
dwarf lemur:
C. medius
. Although fat
-tails occupy primarily dry deciduous
forests of western Madagascar, they
are also found in the southeast
forests such as Fort Dauphin and
have been reported to occupy
northeastern forests not very far
from Marojejy. Documenting the
presence or absence of this species at Marojejy would be informative for determining its geographic range, as well as
documenting ecological variation in the expression of hibernation of a species generally known to inhabit hot and dry
deciduous forests.
Dwarf lemurs are amazing creatures. They are the only primates who regularly hibernate. When you think of
hibernation, you probably think of cold environments, soil covered by snow and ice during the winter, and individuals
trying to “escape” this period of limited resources and low ambient temperatures by hibernating underground. Dwarf
lemurs in Madagascar occupy a
variety of forests, experiencing very
hot
temperatures
during
the
“winter” time (like
C. medius
at
Kirindy, western Madagascar), cold
habitats like Tsinjoarivo (
C. crossleyi
and
C. sibreei
) or rainy less-seasonal
habitats like Fort Dauphin (
C. major
,
C. medius
,
C. crossleyi
southeastern
Madagascar). How long dwarf lemurs
hibernate, where they hibernate or
even why they may hibernate differ
among species and forests. Marojejy
is a great place to study the flexibility
of hibernation of different dwarf
lemurs in one place.
Last November, as I looked back
at the Park entrance one last time
before hiking to the village to get in the car to Sambava, I promised myself to return soon for revenge, in the field-
work sense of the word, of course, which means more traps, more guides and more bananas will be needed next
time. It had been a “teasing” experience due to the multiple sightings at night, but low trapping success. As I am set
to be back in Marojejy again in a few days, I dream of more and closer encounters with
Cheirogaleus
everywhere we
go and hope they’ll let us learn a little more about their lives, their physiologies and evolutionary histories.
To be continued…
Studying Fat-Tailed Dwarf Lemurs of Marojejy
Continued
Dwarf lemur research team: L to R—Manitra, Donatien, Lex, Marina and Dez Kely.
Marina giving a presentation on dwarf lemurs of Madagascar at the project office in Sambava.