We left Russian Bay and headed just around the headland to a tiny island called Antsoha, were they acclimatize four species of lemurs to populate the Lemur Land tourist attraction in Hellvile. We didn't go to Lemur Land, so I wanted to stop to see some lemurs and get a few photos, especially of the white Sifaka lemurs who 'dance' across the trees and ground. Their leaps are quite fun to watch.
This is the landing at Nosy Antsoha, a very pretty little beach area.
These lemurs came to the beach as soon as we landed.
Lemurs coming out of the trees on Nosy Antsoha.
Ain't he cute?
I could get really close to these lemurs, but they don't sit still for very long. They jump and climb and hop all over the place.
Some of them have dark faces and fronts.
They really are just like the cartoon characters they sometimes are depicted as. Soft, cute and cuddly. They don't have claws, and their fingers are quite soft. They don't tend to bite unless you pull their tails.
A white Sifaka lemur nibbling on the leaves of a tree along the beach. They like mangoes and bananas a lot. Just hold out a banana and they will hop onto you to get it.
The staff had tossed out some mangoes for them to eat on the beach and these guys were nibbling them open and licking the juice.
Lemus and mangoes, it doesn't get much better than this.
A close up of one eating the mango.
Hey, what's that over there? Is that a banana I smell?
Where? I was busy eating a mango.
They really are as soft as they look, too.
A different species, this black and white one was a little more aloof.
Gnawing off the peel of the mango so he could lick the juice. He's not dumb.
A cute face, eh?
This Sifaka laid spread-eagled on the sand to eat a mango. White sand, white lemur.
A female and male Makako lemur, coming to see if I have bananas.
Yep, Karen has some banana and they leaped onto my shoulder immediately. The guide in the background had tried to chase the lemurs away from the beach so I couldn't take photos until I paid the entrance fee of 5000 Ariary. Jason had to go back to the boat to get money to pay,
and then he was ok with our interactions with the lemurs. He called them saying "Maki, maki, maki".
This lemur surprised Jason when he jumped onto his shoulder.
Another species, this furry brown lemur was outnumbered by the others.
The long snout on the black and white lemur was distinctive. They all came out for the bananas I'd brought ashore in my shorts pocket.
Jason with a female Makako on his shoulder, looking for bananas.
Karen had the banana in her hand and this female climbed down my arm to get it.
They weren't shy about landing on my shoulders. When two of them tried to land at the same time, one of them used my head to push off and my sunglasses went flying tot he ground and broke, one lens falling out. There are pineapples growing in the background here, too.
The black and white lemur coming in for fruit.
Such a dark face on the white lemur.
I'd pinched off bits of banana and this one licked the remains off my fingers. Bigger chunks of banana just meant the goodies were gone faster. It's amazing how gentle these creatures are.
The furry brown one landed on Jason's shoulder, but he didn't have a banana out.
He sees the banana in my outstretched hand....
and leaps onto me to get it!
We climbed to the top of Nosy Antsoha and it was a very pretty view. This rock outcrop in the ocean was a nice backdrop for the dhow sailing by below us.
A view of YOLO from the outlook on the top of Nosy Antsoha. It was very shallow water between the island and the shore you see, so we had to turn back and go out and around when we left.
The guide took this shot of Jason and Karen at the top of Nosy Antsoha.
Looking down at the beach where we came ashore. You can see our dinghy pulled up onto the sand.
YOLO at Nosy Antsoha. The waters here were pretty clear so we went snorkeling near the island before we left.
The staff have used local vines and timbers to build a nice viewing stand at the top of the island. These vines are woven to make a roof to provide a bit of shade at the top.
Our guide at the viewing stand at the top of Nosy Antsoha.
This huge split rock was the center point of the viewing stand at the top. The viewing platform was built around it.
The handrails were also vines. You can see this one curls around another tree limb in the walkway. I wouldn't trust my weight to the vines for real support. They look nice, but aren't really safe for functional purposes.
Jason climbing down the rocky path from the top. We snorkeled out there beyond those rocks.
We were surprised that the island also hosted these baby turtles. They were three weeks old and the staff will care for them until they are a bit bigger and then turn them loose, hoping their bigger size will let them live longer. The mother turtles laid the eggs on the beach across the way and the staff collected them and hatched them here for safety.
I love these little guys with their flippers always a-flappin'.
The female Makako lemur came back for a final treat as we got back to the beach area. Licking the last of the banana off my fingers.
He looks so sad that he doesn't have any banana.
Really, it's all gone!
And off they went.
Jason held out on the lemurs and pulled this banana out as we left, pretending to be a lemur eating it. Silly man.
1 comment:
love the pictures of the lemurs - so cute!
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