A
JEWEL IN THE CROWD
A
Story of a White Ring-tailed Lemur:
Written
and Photographed by ADRIAN WARREN
Pubished in BBC WILDLIFE
Magazine; February 1997 Page 22- 25
We
looked forward to following young Sapphire's progress over the coming
months as he learned these crucial skills. But for now, there were other
things to think about, in the shape of two late arrivals to the troop
-a pair of twins, one of each sex. Compared to Sapphire, they were unbelievably
tiny, as twins tend to be. Partly because of their size, and partly because
they were born late, to a subordinate mother, we knew they had little
hope of both surviving.
Considering
her position in the female hierarchy, the twins' mother was surprisingly
calm and conscientious, often seeking out a quiet spot some distance away
from her companions where she could give her youngsters her full attention.
We knew she would have a tough time providing enough milk for two hungry
mouths in the coming weeks. Everything was parched dry, the trees were
shedding their leaves, and though there was plenty of food to be had in
the shape of tamarind fruit, there was little or no moisture. It was
as if the whole forest was holding its breath, waiting for the first drops
of much-needed rain.
Life
isn't easy for little ring-tails at the best of times. About half of all
infants die in their first year, many from injuries, some as a result
of falls from high branches. At birth, they are almost completely helpless,
though they can use their tiny hands and feet to grasp their mothers'
fur in a vice-like grip while being carried at speed through the treetops.
At first, they are
carried beneath the belly -within easy reach of a nipple. As they grow,
they switch to travelling on their mothers' backs. From this vantage point
they can observe how their mothers are treated by other troop members.
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A high-ranking mother, for instance, enjoys special treatment: her
infant will see that she is confident and that she elicits submissive
reactions from other members of the troop. Females change rank every
two or three years, however, and the high-status infant may have
to fight for her future rank -but she'll know how to go about it.
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By
contrast, a low-ranking mother is constantly bullied by higher-ranking
females and must work hard to protect her infant. Her youngster learns
how to be submissive. Perhaps it will grow up to be a low-ranking
male or a nervous, inadequate mother- assuming it lives that long.
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As the weeks passed,
Sapphire grew steadily. He became a confident youngster, forming play
groups with other infants of his own age. He was adventurous and inquisitive,
wandering away from his mother to clamber along branches and make contact
with other troop members -typical behaviour for a young male ring-tail.
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Females,
in this female-dominated world, are as rambunctious as the males,
but they also remain close to their mothers, learning skills that
will stand them in good stead when they have babies of their own.
Sometimes they get the chance to act as 'aunts', holding and grooming
their baby brothers or sisters.
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The relationships
that females forge with their mothers are long-lasting -for females never
leave their natal troop. Males, on the other hand, grow up to become wanderers,
staying with their natal troop only for a short while. After leaving home,
they spend their time roaming the forest with other males, looking for other
troops to join.
As
far as Sapphire was concerned, that .was all in the future. For
the moment his life slipped into a reassuring daily routine. This
would begin at dawn, as the troop took a short journey on the forest
floor, from a favourite sleeping tree to a huge and ancient tamarind.
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Ring-tails are completely
at home in the treetops, the bare upper branches of the tamarind made
an ideal arena for a morning assembly. Here the lemurs would climb to
their favourite perches to bask in the first warming rays of sunshine.
It was a time to be with friends, to groom, to play or to tend to the
needs of infants. One of the males would climb to a perch on one of the
highest branches to sing, sending a message far across the forest proclaiming
the troop'sownership of this treasured tree
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