A Lemur Called Maki

This is the story of a young lemur, rescued from poachers. I do not know if Lemur poaching is practised, but the manner in which Maki is captured is the same as that used by poachers of other primates, especially the great apes. It is tragic and cruel that such a thing happens.

Maki clung to the back of his mother his ears flattened back against his bullet-shaped head. His mother hissed, her long canines flashing in the sunlight. But she was no match for the giant one, whose club flashed in the sunlight as he brought it down upon her delicate skullcap. She crumpled, as if she were no more than a construction of twigs. The infant squealed in fear as huge hands plucked him from the corpse, and placed him in a bag that smelt of fear.
He was carried, bouncing through the air like a dandelion being blown about by the wind. The fear-smell reached into his nostrils, and he curled up in terror. There were noises, and smells, all terrifying, all so alien from the sweet aroma of the forest. And then those hands again. Huge hands, callused and dark through years of hard work and hot sun. They pulled him unceremoniously from the bag and plunked him, unresisting, into a wicker basket. There were other lemurs here, five infants, all hugging each other and crouching together in the corner. All terrified. The air stank of urine and fear. The young lemur hastened to join them. There was some comfort in companionship, some comfort in this bizarre and terrible world that had once been so peaceful and calm.

Days passed. The baby lemurs chewed on dried leaves and stale fruit and some got weak, and died. Their death filled the air with a terrible odour that made the survivors restless and anxious. Maki's eyes grew dull and his nerves became so wrought that he tensed at every noise. The tailless one removed them from the basket occasionally, placing them on what appeared to be strips of trees. Most of them just stood there, looking about with blank, dying eyes. Once one of the other lemurs, a female, made a break for it, but those huge hands merely scooped her up as though she were no more than a petal. And then one day, the routine changed. The fruit pulp they were fed tasted strange, almost bitter, but the youngsters were starving and bolted it down anyway. Maki and the other survivors, now but three, were then removed from the basket and placed in something else, something strange, a large box. The huge hands lowered something on them, and suddenly the world was dark. Strangely enough, Maki was not frightened, even though it was dark and the smells were all wrong. He was tired, so tired� His eyes drooped and he collapsed with the other two in a pile of dishevelled fur.

Suddenly there was light, bright, unrelenting. Maki shrank back in fear as those huge, terrible hands reached for him. But they were not terrible, but pale, more delicate than those he was used to. A soothing voice reached his ears and he was placed on a piece of cold grey metal. The furless one picked him up, shining a light in his ears and in his eyes. It was frightening, but not as frightening as the big one had been. The big one than made some motions of a piece of paper with a pencil and then picked Maki up again and placed him in some sort of hanging device. It made some murmuring noises, seemingly of a happy nature, and scrawled on the paper again. Then Maki was removed from the hanging device and put into another box. But this one was different, the sides were broken up by spaces of no-sides and the little lemur could see out. He wondered what had happened to the others, and why he could not remember anything - but he did not wonder for long, for such thoughts were fleeting to the lemur mind.

The kind one opened the cage and inserted her hand, a small piece of fruit balanced on it. Maki eyed it suspiciously, the smell so tantalising. He took a step forward, tentatively. Surely this bog one would not hurt him. It had always been calm, gentle, but still the young lemur was nervous. The smell was bringing saliva to his mouth. Fruit! When had he last had fruit? Maki could not remember. Cautiously, as though scared the fruit were going to lunge at him and hurt him, the young lemur reached out one black hand and grasped the fruit, jumping back swiftly. The kind one made its happy noise, a sort of rumbling sound. It smiled at him. Maki barely noticed, for he was nibbling on the fruit hungrily.

Some days passed, more than Maki could count, more than Maki could remember. Everyday the kind one fed him first by hand, and then with a bowl. And every day, the infant lemur became less frightened, less likely to grab the food and retreat to his corner. And then, one day, when he had clambered into the human's hand to eat the fruit (the warmth felt good to him, reminded him of his mother, a mother whose memory had all but faded into the recesses of his mind), the hand was removed from the cage. The big one held him close to its face, making the pleasing sound to him. He found himself staring into its huge blue eyes, staring at its odd, pointed nose and wide, fearsome mouth. But he was not afraid, for it had been kind to him, was the only mother he knew. Something overcame the small lemur, and he sprang from the hands and onto the human's shoulder. The view from here was quite exciting. The big one made the happy noise and started to move. Curious and somewhat excited, Maki clung to its shoulder, his tail twitching against her neck like a tiny scarf. It opened a hole in the wall and bright light bathed the two of them.

The world was so big, Maki had forgotten how big it was. It was easy to forget when in the clutches of the cruel one. The sun, something Maki had only felt through glass as long as he could remember, bathed him in her golden glow. It stirred things in him, brought back memories that were not his. But he was frightened too. The world was so big, so fill of danger. What if the cruel one was out there, waiting for him? His fur rose at the thought. A gentle breeze rippled through his fur, caressing his skin, yet he clung to the hairless one. Clung to it in fear. She walked along a narrow stone path to a large metal cage, and gently removed him from her shoulder (he tensed at the action, and tried to grip on, but her hands were firm and determined). She placed him in the cage where he at first huddled, terrified. He was alone once more. But he had always been alone. The flightless one sat down beside the cage, leaving the door open. The sun called to him, the breeze caressed him, and eventually the ancestral memories resurfaced. Maki clambered up the branch that took up most of the cage and took a seat in the crotch of the branch. He glanced at the big one. It smiled at him, stretching its arms out to the side. The action stirred something in the young lemur, a memory of another lemur, a large lemur, sitting in the sun in contemplation of the day. He copied its action, waving his tail to keep his balance. The furless one made its pleased noise again. And then it closed the door, and left.

For a moment Maki panicked. He was all alone in the big, strange world. Of course, everything was strange to the young lemur. He tensed, his fur bristling and leaped up the tree branch, struck by an overwhelming desire to go up, up, up. At the top, the branches brushed against bars, and here he crouched, able to see such a long way. But he could not see the furless one, for it had gone inside. A smell reached his nostrils, banishing his fear and replacing it immediately with hunger. He was hungry. He was always hungry. Hanging from the end of the branch was a bright red ball. It smelt like food, but he had never seen food like this before. Curiosity overcame everything else (the ring-tailed lemur is not called Lemur catta for nothing!) and he clambered along the branch, grasping the fruit in his small hands. He pulled on it, and it tumbled through his hands, plunging through the slim foliage and crashing to the ground with a satisfying "splat". The thought of food outweighed everything else, and Maki quickly leapt agily down the tree to the pulpy remains. He scooped up some in one hand and it tasted good, so good. With the determination of the half-starved (even though he was not), the greedy little lemur polished it off in a few seconds, licking the pulp from the rind, then attempting to chew the rind. It was thick and unwholesome however. After his meal, he returned to the high branch to groom himself, licking his beautiful barred tail and hands much the way a cat would. A stray gust of wind whipped savagely through the bars, causing Maki to momentarily shiver and bringing with it something else. Something the young lemur had not smelt in many weeks. The scent of another lemur.
Pulling himself into an upright position, Maki scanned the area as well as he could. There was no other lemur in sight, although the cage was surrounded by many shrubs and trees. But they were out there. They were out there. But for now the sunlight was warm upon his grey and brown body, so he lifted his black-tipped muzzle to the sun, and worshipped her.

For the next handful of days, Maki lived in the big cage. His first night was scary, but also fascinating, for he had never seen the stars before - not that he could remember. There was a smaller, paler sun up there too, a glowing white orb that it appeared someone had sampled. Far away, Maki could hear strange sounds, and he retreated into a large box that had been connected part way up the branch. It was dark in there, more like the night he was used to. He curled up, his tail wrapped around him like a black and white security blanket.

Time passed, as it is prone to doing. Some days, it would rain, water falling from the sky in little droplets. At first Maki hated the rain, for it drenched him and made his fur cling to him, but after a while he got used to it. It was a symbol of his freedom, the greatest freedom he had had since the day the bad man clubbed his mother. He could barely remember his mother now, although sometimes just before he faded into sleep her familiar smell would touch his nostrils. Sometimes he would open his golden eyes wide, scanning the dark box for her, but she was never there. Every day the human came out to see him, and play with him. On one occasion it took him from his cage (he crouched on its shoulder, scanning the area with eager curiosity) and walked around the gardens. There were other cages there, Maki saw them now, prisons just like his. The big one went over to one and another lemur leapt down, to greet it. Maki froze. It was not a ring-tail like himself, but something much bigger, with a black face and white ruff. The human made the comforting noise, and patted him on the head, pacifying him. The gardens were big, with many large trees, and on one of these, the hairless one placed him. At first he wondered what was happening, but quickly curiosity overcame him and with only one glance back at the human, he leapt up it, climbing with great agility to the top. It was so high, so much higher that his cage branch. From here he could see the domed cages, littered amongst the trees as if planted by some great, divine lemur.

A plaintive "mew" made him turn his head, and he found himself staring into the eyes of another lemur. She was larger than him, older, with devilish glee shining in her golden eyes. Maki did not know how to react. It had been many months since he had seen another lemur. The female spared him the thought, she pounced at him.
Maki was so surprised that he barely managed to catch himself with his hind-feet before he was pushed from the branch. He hissed balefully at the female, and she crouched back, giving him a puzzled look. What did I do? She asked with her eyes. But Maki had been alone too long, did not know quite how to react in this situation. Did not want to be in this situation. He clambered down the tree and jumped onto the big one's broad shoulder. The female lemur followed him partway, eyeing him closely, before she got bored and wandered off to chew leaves instead.
The human continued its rounds, Maki crouching on its shoulder. Most of the other cages were larger and had two or more lemurs in them. They were all shaped and sizes - ring-tails, black, ruffed, and all of them came out to peer at Maki inquisitively. There were some in the trees too, and these leapt down to investigate as the hairless one tipped fruit and delicious raisins into big bowls. When Maki tried to snatch some, a larger ring-tailed lemur cuffed him away. Dejected, he slank back to the human's shoulder.

It became a regular pattern for the young lemur. Every day, the human would take him from his cage, and put him in the tree with the other lemur. The thought of escape never touched the infant's mind - the furless one was the only mother he remembered, except in those strange moments between wakeness and sleep. Sometimes he would find fruit in the tree, hanging there from pieces of thread. Often when he tried to eat these the female would leap at him, cuff him about a little, and steal it off him. He soon learnt to wait until she was eaten before going for something himself. It was his first real introduction to lemur social structure.

And then one day, the human locked him up with the female.

At first he thought it was some kind of mistake - the cage was so much larger and smelt unfamiliar. He watched the human walk away and mewed dismally. He did not feel safe here, and he immediately retreated into the sleeping box. It was dark in here, but closer and he felt more secure. The close confines were like another mother to him - big spaces made him feel vulnerable and edgy. A while later, the female clambered in with him. He cowered back, prepared to make a mad dash for it if she tried to cuff him about again, but she did not. She merely pushed past him and curled up in the middle of the box, taking up the majority of the space. Maki found himself cramped in the corner, fur rising slightly. He had never slept this close to another lemur, not since that horrifying but strange vague, trip in the dark box. He had not thought about his companion in imprisonment for many months, but now he did. Why were they not here with him? The thought was gone as quickly as it came.

He awoke to an unfamiliar sensation. Something was grooming him. For the briefest of moments he was back with his mother, having her lick his grey coat, it was bittersweet, and short-lived. He jolted awake, startling the female, who paused for a moment, staring at him from her golden eyes. Then he relaxed once more, pushing his small, stocky body up against her's and entwining his tail about her. Almost immediately she resumed her grooming.

The next few months were the happiest of Maki's short life. He and the female played together and dined on the fruit that was mysteriously hung in their tree every morning. They were happy days. And then winter came. Maki had never felt snow before - and was unlikely to in his natural environment. The day was overcast and cold. It had been overcast and cold for the last few weeks, and the two lemurs had spent most of their time huddling in their heated sleeping box. Suddenly, something small, cold and white drifted down from the sky, settling into Maki's thick fur. He scratched at it, finding it cold and damp, only to discover that another few were following its action. The female lemur grinned at him knowingly, she was that bit older, that bit more experienced. Her tongue flicked out, catching a snowflake. Attempting to follow her lead, Maki chased one, catching it in his mouth. It was cold, sharp tasting, and melted in but a second. The female flicked her tail in amusement, pouncing on his playfully. He darted away, leaping up to catch another snowflake, this time in his dark hands. It disappeared almost instantaneously, leaving his hand cold and damp and him puzzled. Eventually the cold got too great to bear, and the two of them retreated into the warm, but dull, depths of the sleeping box.

Winter slowly passed into spring, the days growing warmer and longer, the nights clearer. Maki liked to watch the stars at night, they looked almost close enough to touch. Every day the food was hidden somewhere in the cage, so that they had to search to find it, and in some cases struggle to extract it, as was the case with the hard-shelled berries. And then one day the human came in with them again. It had been such a long time, that Maki had almost forgotten the bond he had shared with the furless one. He remembered immediately when he saw it again and darted down to beg for sultanas. The female followed him, but keeping her distance, more reserved around the big ones. The human was carrying something and now it opened it, placing a handful of delicious smelling dried fruit inside. Maki had no fear of small spaces anymore, the horrible time spent in the captivity of the cruel one had all but faded into the mists of the past. He scampered in, eagerly grasping a handful of the sultanas. The door slammed shut behind him, trapping him. He squeaked in fear, turning around and staring at the female with frightened eyes. The furless one made comforting noises at him, and he quickly calmed down. This human would never hurt him.
It carried the box outside, placing it on the grass, and picked up another box. Maki could not see into the cage - for the box only had one side that could be seen through and this was facing the gravel path. He could, however, hear what was happening. The human was trying to catch the female and having some difficulty. After some time, he heard the female hissing, and decided that she too, had been captured. Then his box was picked up again (he had a vision of the path swinging back and forth in front of him) and he was carried to some large sculpture that smelled of something sickly and strong. The human opened a door on the side and placed his cage in it, along with the other cage. He called to the female, who answered him, reassuring him that she was fine and everything would be ok. The air smelt of slight fear. Then the sculpture shook, making an almighty noise and began to lurch along like a lemur that had eaten too many fermented berries. After a period of time the monotony of the journey sent Maki into a sort of daze, so that whilst not asleep he was not entirely awake either. He curled up, wrapping his tail about himself. After what felt like eternity to the little primate, the rattling and rumbling stopped. Once again, the cages were removed, this time being carried towards what appeared to be a giant, resting bird. Although Maki knew of not birds that slept with their wings outspread. Here the cages were loaded into its belly (which must not be too comfortable for the bird, the lemur thought momentarily) and then he and the female were left in darkness. She mewed to him, her voice making him feel more secure, even though he could sense her fear. After a while, the bird began to make an odd rumbling sound and started moving so fast that Maki fell backwards against the back of the cage. He braced himself against the walls as the roaring bird lurched off. For a while he was frightened, mewing in fear at the female, but nothing bad happened and so many incidents had occurred over the last day that Maki could not be frightened for long. Eventually, his fear subsided and he curled up again, chewing his tail for comfort. Once again, the monotony led to something bordering on sleep.

A jolt awakened the young lemur from his reverie. He bolted upright, hissing in fear. The female mewed comfortingly. She too, was frightened. He answered her and tensed, waiting to see what would happen next. Nothing happened for so long that he was starting to lose interest again, when suddenly the bird opened, light flooding in. The cage was removed and Maki was released into a large wire enclosure. A moment later the female was let in with him. There were other lemurs here - two males and another female and instantly some fighting resulted. Maki's female stood her ground, bullying the other female until the two of them were comfortable in each other's presence, comfortable with their individual social position. It was longer before Maki was accepted though. The other males were bigger and bullied him mercilessly, their long fangs leaving marks in his fine silver fur. However, eventually they came to accept his presence, although they always forced him to feed from the food dish last.

Here they remained for some time, poor Maki being pushed to the bottom of the hierachy, allowed in the group but restricted in his actions. And then, one day, a strange, but enticing odour called to him. It was the female who had come with him, and she was crouching on a branch being stared at by both the other males. One had a dejected, hangdog look about him, but the other was grooming the female's tail. Something snapped in Maki, whether it was the scent of the female in season or the jealousy of her actions with another male. Pausing for a moment, he rubbed his wrists along his tail, coating it in special scent and he leapt, hissing at the male.
The male turned on him, displaying his canines in a flash of aggression. His fur stood on end, making him look half again as large as he was. Maki pulled back his lips revealing the fangs, and darted at the intruding male. His tail was held high, sending wafts of scent into the air. The male sprang at him and he danced aside, leaping across the ground as though his legs were spring-loaded. Having recovered from his leap, the rival male sprang towards him, and Maki leapt to meet him, causing him to spring back. There was much noise, hissing, yowling, but very little physical contact. The rival male, whether it was because he had earlier fought with the other male, or just because he lacked the sheer determination of the youngster, appeared to be tiring. Maki sprang at him again, flashing his teeth and the rival retreated, returning to sit beside the other male and groom him with his special comb-like incisors. The young lemur sprang up the tree to where the female sat, watching the procedure with great interest. As he came nearer, she turned her back to him, tail held at a crooked angle, and he mounted, taking his reward.

The social structure of the troop changed once again when the kits were born. Two of them, twins, something highly unusual in lemur society. In the first few days they were carried in the mother's mouth, but since she could hold only one, the other female helped. The kits were tiny, with bright blue eyes that changed slowly to golden yellow in the first two weeks. Maki was justifiably pride of his two young daughters, allowing them to crawl all over him and grooming them with his special teeth and rasping tongue. They grew fast, requiring a great deal of care and attention, for they would wander off to investigate the slightest sound or movement. Many times Maki or his mate had to leap after them, picking them from the branch with their teeth and returning them to the safety of the parent's back or stomach. When the kits were several days old, the other two males disappeared. Maki never found out what happened to them, they were just gone one morning. The death smell was not apparent so he figured the humans had just taken them away, and thought no more about it. The humans showed themselves very infrequently. On occasion they would take the babies, placing them in some sort of bowl-like device and noting things down in a book, but Maki paid very little attention to that. At first it had scared him, the first time they picked up one of the infants that had been left sitting alone on a branch (she had been exploring the big, wide world). He had leapt at the human, hissing and spitting, but the human had muttered those soothing words, the words that reminded him of his mother (human mother and lemur mother had become one in his memories). He had settled down, mollified, but watched closely to make sure no harm came to his precious daughter.

The kits were three months old when once again, change came to the lemur family. None of the humans had touched Maki or either of his females since they had been placed in the enclosure, but now they attempted to. The sultanas and banana smelt good - Maki had not tasted sultanas since his old home, the thought of them brought saliva to his mouth. He trotted across the ground, following the delectable aroma. Someone had placed them inside a wire box, but such things held no fear for Maki. He had been in more boxes than he could count and even if he had become more cautious of late - he could see in all directions in this box. He stepped in and hungrily ate the dried fruit. Nothing happened. Someone had speared a banana on a piece of wire at one end of the box. It smelt delicious, even after the sultanas. No sense in letting it go to waste. He grabbed at it with one hand.
"SNAP."
Suddenly he was trapped, enclosed on all sides. Claustrophobia, something that had never bothered him before, overwhelmed him. What if someone hurt his kits whilst he was in here? How could he defend them? The bars refused to give under his biting teeth and after much struggling and fur flying, he conceded to his capture. Something was thrown over the cage, enveloping the world in darkness. Maki was frightened and struggled once more. Now he had his daughters he would no longer act the cowering infant. He was an adult, he was a father and he had responsibilities. Despite his best efforts, the cage would not release him and eventually he dropped into depression. He crouched low in the cage, fur raised and waited.
He had not long to wait, for suddenly the blanket was removed and he saw his surrounding. Tall trees surrounded him and the smells of the woodland reached his nostrils. Suddenly the door was opened and he had darted free without even a thought about it. Anxiously he called to his mate and children.
Somewhere not far, he heard a reply, his mate.
Without hesitation, he darted after the sound, to find his mate, the other female and the two kits all sitting in a sunlit glade. The other female was nibbling on some kind of plant, whilst one of the kits tried to attack her twitching tail. His mate sat in full sun-worship position, the young lemur beside her doing her best to imitate her. Instantly Maki bowled into her, sending her tumbling and nipping at him in surprise and probably a little bit of embarrassment. His joy at seeing his family whole was unrelenting. No longer had they any bars around them, now the only boundaries were that which they made themselves. Now they could truly climb through the highest treetops and eat the sun-ripened fruit.
Maki had finally come home again.