Blue-Eyed Black Lemur
Also known as the Sclater's lemur and is a species of true lemur. It has a body length of 39–45 cm, a tail length of 51–65 cm, a total length of 90–100 cm and a weight of 1.8-1.9 kg. They have strong hands with palms like a human, they have a rubbery texture to give it a firm grip on branches. Its tail is longer than its body and is non-prehensile. Males are solid black in colour, with the hairs sometimes tinged brown at the roots. Females are reddish-brown in colour with their underside and outline of their face a lighter tan.
They have a dark brown or grey muzzle and the back of their hands and feet are a similar dark colour. Both sexes have blue eyes, hence the common name, and are one of the only primates other than humans to consistently have blue eyes. The eyes can range in colour from a shocking electric blue, a light sky-blue, or a softer grey-blue.
Habitat
The blue-eyed black lemur inhabits primary and secondary sub-tropical moist and dry forests in the northwestern tip of Madagascar. Its range extends from the Andranomalaza River in the north, to the Maevarano River in the south. Some areas where it can readily be seen are in the forests south of Maromandia near Antananarivo and Antsiranana. It may also be seen in the remaining forest patches of the Sahamalaza Peninsula, such as the Ankarafa forest
Diet
Fruit, pollen, and nectar make up the bulk of this lemur's diet. During the dry season when food is scarce it may eat leaves, seeds and berries and rarely insects. It may also raid farmlands and eat some of the crops, which may lead to it being shot by farmers. The blue-eyed black lemur helps propagate many rain forest plants. Since it digests the flesh but not the seeds of the fruits it eats, it spreads the seeds of more than 50 different plant species (deposited in a fresh pile of fertilizer), and some plants may have evolved specifically to be dispersed by this lemur. The blue-eyed black lemur also pollinates many plants while it eats nectar and pollen from the plants flowers.
Breeding
The blue-eyed black lemur is thought to be polygynous. Females give birth to one or two offspring in June or July, after a gestation of 120 to 129 days. The young are weaned after about 5–6 months, and they reach maturity at about 2 years of age. It may live between 15–30 years in captivity, with little data recorded on their longevity in the wild. It demonstrates a cathemeral activity pattern, being awake sporadically throughout the day.
Population
According to the IUCN Red List, they are classed as Critically Endangered(CE) and their population trend is decreasing and they were last accessed on 11th July 2012. There is not a certain number of mature individuals so there is not a true number.
Threats
The greatest threat to the Blue-eyed Black Lemur is habitat destruction due to the continuing slash-and-burn agriculture as well as selective logging, mining and feu de colère. Logging and forest fires have increased dramatically since the onset of the political crisis in Madagascar in early 2009. The species is also hunted for food, especially by the Tsimihety in the eastern range of its distribution, where Andrianjakarivelo found a trap density of up to 570 traps/km2 within certain areas. Blue-eyed Black Lemurs are locally kept as pets.
Conservation
It is considered one of the most threatened primates in the world, having been included on the 2008 list of the world's 25 Most Endangered Primates, drawn up every two years by the IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group, the International Primatological Society, and Conservation International. Parts of the distribution area officially received protected area status in 2007 (Parc National Sahamalaza-Iles Radama), including the Sahamalaza Peninsula and some mainland forests to the north and east. The Sahamalaza Peninsula is also a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. As of 2010, there were about 75 individuals in captivity in Europe, North America and Madagascar. However, individuals tend not to do very well in captivity; obesity is a problem.