Revised Version -- Madagascar: Up Close and Personal

Tuesday, January 27, 2009 - 16:35 in Biology & Nature

This is a revised version of a feature story that was issued Jan. 20. University of North Dakota anthropologist Frank Cuozzo and his colleagues are studying threats posed to the local ringtailed lemur population of a remote region in southern Madagascar. What they've found is that overgrazing by cattle herds has decimated the supply of soft fruits and other palatable lemur delights outside of a lemur conservation zone. This has forced the lemurs high into the trees above the degraded areas to feed on the tough pods of the fruit from the tamarind tree. The change in diet has been too rapid for the lemurs' bodies to adapt, causing intense tooth wear and severe oral infections that impact their overall health.

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