The interesting animals we will learn about today are found only in the deep forests of Madagascar and are not the same as those called flying lemurs in Australia, discussed in our last issue.
The species from Madagascar comes in a variety of sizes, the largest being the indri which has a two-foot-long body with a stubby tail. The smallest is the mouse lemur, just four inches or so, plus a tail of the same length. It weighs only about two ounces and could easily be mistaken for a mouse.
Another large one is the red-ruffed, which is slightly smaller than the indri. Its main characteristic is that it usually walks on all fours with its tail held high. Its silky fur is a rich reddish-orange with contrasting white patches, black face, hands and feet. Its life is spent high in the trees, walking along the branches and making unusually great leaps between trees. The red-ruffed mother parks her little one on a branch while she looks for food, but others take their little ones with them, clinging tightly to their mother’s fur as she travels.
The mongoose lemur, about half the size of the indri, is a pretty combination of white, tan and gray and has unusually strong, flexible hands for gripping branches. The brown, about the same size except for a longer tail, is brown all over except for its black face and tail.
One that breaks the rules and spends most of its time on the ground is the ring-tailed variety, getting its name because of its long full tail boldly marked with black and white rings.
Most varieties have slender bodies and narrow, pointed snouts with eyes that can see on the darkest night. Leaves of trees, fruit, berries, insects, flowers, bark and tree gum represent the average food choices of these appealing animals.
For matters of safety, all lemurs go after their food at night and, as mentioned, God has given them extra-special night vision to take care of this. If they could ever stop to think about it, no doubt they would consider themselves to be well hidden and difficult to see. But there is One who sees them as well in the dark as in the daylight — the One who is their Creator and of whom it is said: “Yea, the darkness hideth not from Thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to Thee.” Psalms 139:1212Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. (Psalm 139:12).
They have no way of knowing they are always looked on by One who cares for them. But we know from the Bible that the Lord God not only always sees us, but is “beholding the evil and the good.” This should make us stop to think about what our behavior means to Him at all times, and to ask His help in finding more ways to please Him.
ML-09/01/1985