Day Nine - The Song of the Indri

I was woken at 5am by the song of indri echoing across the reserve. What a start to the day! I sat on the veranda watching the sun come up and listening to the sounds of the rainforest.

After a quick breakfast Ingrid, Lana, Jeff and I were soon accompanying our guides into Betampona reserve.
It wasn’t long before we saw our first lemurs. A group of white-fronted brown lemurs were feasting on pink flowers high in the canopy. One was carrying a tiny baby. We have this species at the IOW Zoo (Mork and Isabella) and it was so exciting to see their wild cousins in their natural habitat.
A little further on we came across some grey bamboo lemurs with very cute faces. A noisy vasa parrot was feeding high above them and a large pill bug had curled up on the path near our feet.
By now we were quite a long way into the reserve and the guides switched on the radio-tracking equipment that Lana uses to locate her study animals. They soon picked up a signal from one of the study’s diademed sifaka and we followed as the signal grew stronger. Lana indicated that the lemurs were off to the right so if we wanted to see them we had to go ‘off-piste’. We plunged as quietly as possible down a precipitous slope, grabbing tree trunks and creepers as we went, to slow our descent. As we neared the animals the guide raised his hand to warn us that we were close and we all froze, holding our breath. Then I saw them. There were two sifaka clinging, one above the other, to the trunk of a tree. They were exquisite. I tried to take some photographs but it was difficult to focus the image because there were so many branches and creepers between us and the lemurs.

The female suddenly leapt from tree to tree and her mate followed each time. They were incredibly agile and very fast - we couldn’t keep up with them and eventually they were out of sight. It dawned on me then that we had to retrace our steps back up the steep hill to the path. It was definitely worth it though. I had never seen sifaka before so this had been such a treat.
Next we picked up the radio signal from one of the indri that are also in Lana’s study. Indri cannot be kept in zoos so it is only possible to see them in the wild. They are the largest lemur species and, like so many other species, are endangered. I hadn’t dared to hope that I would ever see one, so now my adrenalin was running high with excitement. We followed the signal and before long were again scrambling downwards through the dense forest. A female indri and her mate were sitting high in the trees and we crouched in the undergrowth so as not to disturb them. They were not in the least bit bothered by our presence and they calmly picked leaves and popped them one after another into their mouths. Again photography was difficult. The camera kept hunting for focus and this was actually a problem throughout the day. So I concentrated on watching the indri through my binoculars and capturing the images in my memory (and indeed in my heart). Eventually they moved on, leaping easily through the trees and leaving us far behind. Lana had another treat in store for us though: she suggested that we try to locate another pair in her study, one of whom has a young baby.
Again we climbed back to the track and continued until we picked up a new signal. Before long we were off down the mountain again. This time the descent was even steeper and the terrain was treacherous. I soon learned to glance at the tree trunks before grabbing them after inadvertently grasping a couple that were studded with sharp thorns! All pain and discomfort evaporated the instant we found the indri though. 
 

The baby was enchanting, practising little jumps watched indulgently by his proud mum. We sat in rapt silence for more than an hour. Another indri group started calling their strange, eerie song elsewhere in the forest. It was a magical experience. Then suddenly our pair began to call back, just a few metres from where we were sitting. It was the most beautiful, haunting sound and I am not ashamed to admit that it moved me to tears. In fact I can feel a lump forming in my throat even now as I write about it. We were truly privileged to share the forest for a short time with these wonderful animals. When the indri finally moved off we shared our experience like excited schoolchildren, not believing how lucky we had been. We celebrated by eating our picnic (rice and vegetables) before making the tricky climb back to the track.
Once on the path most of the group headed on back to Rendrirendry, but Ingrid and I decided to amble back very slowly, savouring the experience of being in such an extraordinary location and taking time to look carefully for hidden treasures. We had a lovely couple of hours finding and photographing geckos, unusual plants and invertebrates. We found an enormous millipede and I couldn’t resist picking it up, feeling its hundreds of feet rippling like a Mexican wave across my hands. It was rather like holding a living nail brush and it was so big I needed two hands to hold it.

Nearing Rendrirendry we came across a group of brown lemurs including one called ‘Mr Blue’ whom Ingrid and her team had radio-collared a few weeks ago. Mr. Blue had unexpectedly reacted badly to the tranquilliser and Ingrid had been worried that he might not wake up again. She had taken him to her room and sat up holding him wrapped in a blanket all night. The other lemurs from the group had stayed close, calling from the trees. Thankfully by the time morning arrived he was recovering and it wasn’t long before he went back to his group. Ingrid has developed a soft spot for him so was delighted when we saw him.
On our return I went to the one spot at the camp where it is possible to get a phone signal and sent texts to my family. After dinner the herps team went off to carry out a night survey near the camp. I decided not to go in case I got in the way so instead I settled for a quiet candlelight read on the veranda. I didn’t read much though - I was too distracted by the fireflies dancing in the starlight and by the sounds of the forest at night.
The last entry in my diary that evening was....A FANTASTIC DAY!