Blog by MBP Volunteer, Blake

The lemurs of Kianjavato live a life similar to that of the gorillas in Rwanda. That is to say they are surviving in an island of rainforest surrounded by an ocean of fields. The most consistent sound in Sangasanga would be the low murmur of humanity all around. Our lemurs often eat quietly on the edges of rice fields on the bamboo which is abundant on the periphery. As I have settled into this role as a field researcher the personality of each of the lemurs has started to show through.

My favorite individuals in the groups often are the underdogs. I believe much of that comes from similar qualities to myself. Most of the time, my lemurs who I root for, are the gangly and the slightly less than socially adept. For example, there is Dobby. Where do I even begin with such a lemur? He is frail, clumsy, missing one eye, and often bullied by the dominant males of Han or Gryff as well as the mothers in the groups. It is pretty common to find him on the edge when a skirmish breaks out over jackfruit. The other day, the groups were high in a lychee tree gorging themselves on the succulent fruits. There came into my field of view, a crippled juvenile male. I was concerned and pointed out the individual to my guides. Here, one of the guides, merely laughed and said it was Dobby who often managed to injure himself. Shortly after the sighting, Gryff came over to do his alpha-male thing. Namely, take the prime feeding spot of other less able members. Dobby was not enthused about any of this. An arguments broke out and the relatively docile Dobby started shoving Gryff. This resulted in a dominance battle where somehow Dobby stayed put. That brings up another quality I find admirable in this punitive individual. He is scrappy when needed. Overall, he has all the social grace of a teenager at their first dance and the goofiness of a cartoon character, but these traits serve only to endear this little guy to myself more overtime.

Watch some Greater bamboo lemurs get very worked up over jackfruit!

Photo and video courtesy of MBP Volunteer, Victoria