October 26 - Berenty: The Last Part (Whew!)

[leaping_lemurs]

Here's the last post covering the next-to-last day.

First, a couple of shots shot I forgot to include with the afternoon walk: a paradise flycatcher on her nest and a rooster.

I shot straight up, but you can see the flycatcher's head past the edge of the nest.


A handsome rooster.


Then we got in the car and went to see the sisal factory, where the leaves are fed by hand (in big bunches) into a machine that strips off the outer coating to reveal and wash the fibers inside, which are then carried to vast rows of outdoor racks to dry.

Here's a look at the process, starting with the arrival of the sisal. The guys ride right on top of these trucks on the way to the "factory."


I don't know if you can tell, but the guys have leg protectors on but are barefoot!






Here's the sludge running out:










We also saw a harem of ostriches.





The ostrich keeper's daughters:


Then we did a little walking in the more open part of the spiny forest, where we saw 2 scops owls, a very small species.



Up close and personal:


On our night walk (when we were accompanied by a French couple, the only time we were more than just ourselves), the first thing we saw was a chameleon.



Next I showed that though I still don’t have good lemur-spotting skills by day, I’ve mastered the art of looking for eye shine in the trees at night. I spotted 3 grey and reddish-grey mouse lemurs and 4 white-footed sportives. Whee! The mouse lemurs are speedy little guys, and they really do run like mice along the branches. Even so, I managed a couple of pictures, and I got a few of one of the sportives, too.

First, a mouse lemur.


This shot is kind of weird, but I really like it.


And now, the white-footed sportive. This first shot gives you a good sense of the dense spiny forest, but can you see the lemur?


I cropped it so you can't miss him.


We maneuvered our way closer so I could get these shots. Notice the eye shine, not to mention the crazy-spiny branches he's sitting on.






Then it was off for dinner and bed, because we had to meet at 5:00 for our morning walk.