Well, it has only been 3 days since we official cleared into Madagascar…and so excited and we hit the ground running…. we buddies up with SV Beez Neez and SV Nauti Nauti for a quick day trip to Nosy Komba where there is a small lemur park….. it’s time to see lemurs!
Nosy Komba Anchorage: 13 26.6311 S, 048 21.3484 E
Anchor up at Crater bay at 8 am…anchor down at 10:30 am. Dinghy down by 11 am (after an anchor beer of course!) and off to find the lemur park…. but first….
History Lesson: Nosy Komba (English translation is “Lemur Island) is a volcanic island. It’s original name is Nosy Ambariovato which translates to “surrounded by many stones”.
Most of the Nosy Be and Nosy Komba inhabitants are ‘Sakalava’ which, according to the fascinating website below, was the first ethnic group to form in Madagascar.
https://www.madamagazine.com/en/volksgruppen-madagaskars
Wikipedia states that in early nineteen century, a Sakalava queen, Tsiomeko, and her followers fled to Nosy Komba after being defeated by King Radama I. King Radama I, who untied the Merina kingdom here, was the first recognized King of Madagascar by a European state and who was aligned and aided by the English to prevent re-establishment of French rule in Madagascar. Unfortunately the French took hold about 1904….
http://www.travelmadagascar.org/PLANNING/history.html
Dazed and confused…we wandered the lovely paths filled with souvenirs while looking for the lemur park….
We do not know much about lemurs so a little research had to be done….here is a short recap from the below website:
https://www.wildmadagascar.org/wildlife/lemurs.html
“Until around 160 million years ago, Madagascar was attached to the African mainland…..The island continued to drift eastward and by the time monkeys appeared on the scene 17-23 million years ago, Madagascar was isolated from their arrival. Madagascar’s lemurs—isolated from evolutionary changes of the world—radiated into the large island’s many niches without much competition or predication. Madagascar is alone responsible for 21 percent (14 of 65) of all primate genera and 36 percent (five of 14) of all primate families. Currently all lemurs are endangered species, due mainly to habitat destruction (deforestation) and hunting. ”
The sign to the lemur park….8,000 Ariary is about $2 usd 
The office…. 
Tickets….very official! 
Walking through more of the village, our guide told us that taking photos of people is “fady”. Fady is the Malagasy word for “taboo”….but is also a word to describe something that is sacred. Fady governs certain behaviors between people and their environment that has been passed down for generations. So in this example, it is “fady” or forbidden to take people’s photos without asking them first…good to know! 
We encoutnered many vendors along the way….we really like the paintings! 
Our guide, born and raised on Nosy Komba. Basically lemurs are also “Fady”…they are sacred. After learning about their fruit diet, being “fady”, the lemurs have free range of whatever they want to eat as no harm can be done to them by the villagers.
Though technically called Eulemur Macaco, the Black Lemur or just “Maki” for lemur, are the main lemurs in this area. They are about the size of a cat and are sometimes caught as pets due to their trusting and curious nature.
The ICUN distribution map of Black Lemurs
We were told that these guys live in groups of about 7 to up to 20 memebers in each group consiting of multiple females and males in a group. They can live about 20 years old. They leap from tree branch to branch. They are also cathemeral primate, meaning that it has a 24 hour activity cycle that is neither strictly diurnal nor solely nocturnal.
“Hi ya”…. 
“…what cha got for me?”
The Black Lemurs are the most sexually dimorphic (the differences in appearance between males and females of the same species, besides their “parts”) of lemurs where males are black and smaller than the brown/orange, larger females.
“Feed me Seymour!” 
” Misaotra ” (thank you in Malagasy)
Breeding season is between April and May annually. Gestation is about 125 days so we got to see this mama and baby who is only about 3 week old. We were told that the baby holds on to it’s mother for about 3-4 months…
I found this fun fact from this website: https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Eulemur_macaco/
“Black lemurs have been documented multiple times antagonizing toxic millipedes in order to rub the toxic secretions on their fur. They gently bite the millipede several times until it secretes the toxins, and then cover their bodies with the toxins. It is presumed that the millipede toxin has insecticidal properties that are beneficial to the lemurs. A side effect of the toxins leaves the lemurs with a “high” sensation. In most cases, the millipede is released relatively unscathed. ”
We saw a few other cool species….
After researching what type of chameleon this is…I think it could be a baby male Panther Chameleon? Panther chameleon classification and colors differ depending on their ‘locale’. 
Supposedly, they are called ‘panther’ because they are very aggressive. 
I think this is a Peregrine Falcon…which winters in Madagascar. 
I believe this is a ‘day gecko’. There are many of different types of ‘day geckos’. Unlike most geckos which are nocturnal and often cryptic in coloration, day geckos are brightly colored and generally active during the day.
After a beer at one of the beach cafes we headed off to lunch on board SV Beez Knees complete with 2 Slippery nipple shots…no joke!!! We headed back to Crater bay and anchored just after dusk….
Next up: Happy birthday to me….NOT!