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Ring-tailed Lemur

Lemur catta

Status: Endangered due to habitat destruction and pet trade.

A Mahafaly story:

A man captured a tortoise one day and brought it home to his two wives. As the first wife was preparing the tortoise for dinner, the second wife spied her. Jealousy flared in the second wife for her husband had not given the tortoise to her! She took a wooden spoon and began to beat the first wife. Under the beating, the first wife was transformed into a ring-tailed lemur. Angry at her aggressor, she snatched the spoon from the second wife and beat her back, and the second wife was transformed into a sifaka.

This story explains how these two primates were once humans and hence related to mankind. The very human-like qualities of lemurs with their long fingers and expressive faces is thought to be the reason why killing them is taboo and may bring bad luck to those who commit the crime.

 

References:
Loudon, James & Sauther, Michelle & Fish, Krista & Hunter-Ishikawa, Mandala & Ibrahim, Youssouf. (2006). One reserve, three primates: Applying a holistic approach to understand the interconnections among ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta), Verreaux's sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi), and humans (Homo sapiens) at Beza Mahafaly Special Reserve, Madagascar. Ecol Environ Anthropol. 2. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1006&context=icwdmeea