11 replies to this topic

[Justin]

Enjoy. Trip report to follow in the next week or so (in this same thread).

Pictures from Madagascar

[Justin]

And Paris too, in case you hadn't noticed.

[Kim]

Superb, exquisite, magnificent, running out of superlatives. I am transported.

You got some absolutely incredible lemur pix. Didn't their little finger pads feel so soft? And the Baobabs, I can't stop looking at the Baobabs...

[bgl]

Justin,

"Captivating" doesn't even begin to describe what you have managed to accomplish through your outstanding photography! The scenery, the animals (amazing!), the plants and trees (those baobab landscapes - wow! Like it's on a different planet!) and the people! Extraordinary! Thanks for an amazing journey!

Bo-Göran

[realarch]

Pretty sweet Justin! Great photos and a tortoise to boot. Those Lemurs are such amazing looking animals.

[apaandssa]

Wonderful photos of a remarkable trip! Makes the hours on the plane and funds spent seem unimportant and reinforces my wish to get there someday. I have four very tiny baobabs grown from seed. The tallest is less than 2 feet, but perhaps many generations from now they'll grow into monsters. Not likely that anything else I did the day I planted those would be around to matter then.... So today I'll plant some seeds (Theobroma bicolor) and hope to affect the future in a positive way. Thanks so much for sharing photos of your adventure!

[kahili]

Thanks so much for posting these incredible pictures of your trip. Are all the pictures of the monkeys different kinds of lemurs? Do you know how many different kinds you took pictures of-they are all so interesting. But what really caught my attention in the animal dept was that brown animal that was right after the first set of lemurs. It was laying on the ground like a dog, but i don't think it was? Do you know what it is? How big was it? I don't think that I have ever seen an animal like it before
Love the baobabs-nothing like it, they are amazing.

[Justin]

Kahili, with the exception of the animal you noted laying on the ground, the other animals are all lemurs. Some are called lemurs, some are called Sifakas, but they are all related. As I recall, there are 5 families, with 1 being in its own family and the whole rest being split among the 4 families based on certain criteria.

The animal laying on the ground is a fossa, which is the only real predator for lemurs. It's not really a canine or a feline, but instead related to the mongoose. It can climb trees and jump through branches quite well, chasing after lemurs. They are very hard to spot, as they generally don't like coming anywhere near humans.

[kahili]

Thanks Justin-very interesting. It was kind of hard to tell whether it was a tame or semi-tame animal because it looks like it was just sort of lounging around, unafraid of humans, But there was also a predatory look to it. There is a large lemur study /conservation center here at Duke University. Your pictures have inspired me to go check it out! http://lemur.duke.edu/

[George Sparkman]

Thank You Justin !
Stunning photos.
I am really looking forward to your trip report.

Happy growing,
George Sparkman
Cycads-n-Palms.com

[chipcount]

Very nice chameleon pics

[Justin]

As promised, here is the trip report

Madagascar 2011: Chilling in the land of pyromaniacs