The Ghosts Of Madagascar: Why The Lemurs Scream And The Plants grow Spikes

To the rest of the world, Madagascar’s wilderness appears as a peculiar, remixed version of theirs. Its remaining nature, threatened by development, hosts animals only distantly familiar. Instead of big cats, <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/fossa" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">the Fossa</a>, a relative of the mongoose, prowls the undergrowth, holding an uncanny resemblance to a cougar. It hunts the many lemurs which adapted to fill available niches on the island, such as the Aye-Aye. Without any Malagasy woodpeckers to compete with, these creepy, pale-faced lemurs with yellow, beady eyes,<a href="https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-september-13-2017-1.4285870/how-woodpeckers-and-aye-aye-lemurs-can-teach-us-about-evolution-1.4285997" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank"> took their role</a>. Using their long, bony middle fingers like a woodpecker’s beak, they dig holes into trees in search of grubs. The largest lemur species, the ring-tailed lemur, must also avoid predation from these cat-like mongooses as they scavenge for food and defend their territory. <a href="https://evolution-and-nature.medium.com/the-ghosts-of-madagascar-the-dead-that-make-the-lemurs-scream-and-the-plants-grow-spikes-7dbdcdc95399">Learn More</a>