Greater or Broad-nosed Gentle Lemur
Prolemur simus Gray, 1870 or 1871?
CR A2cd

At more than 2 kg, this is the largest member of the genus Hapalemur. In eastern Madagascar it is sympatric with the more common lesser bamboo lemur (Hapalemur griseus) and the similarly endangered golden bamboo lemur (Hapalemur aureus). As its name would indicate, the diet of this diurnal lemur is primarily bamboo (up to 98%), especially the soft pith found inside large stalks, but it also feeds on a small variety of flowers, fruits and leaves from other types of plants. The manner in which the greater bamboo feeds on the bamboo pith, stripping and tearing apart the outer stalk, leaves telltale evidence of its presence in an area. Subfossil remains suggest that this species was once widespread in Madagascar, but it has suffered greatly through the centuries from slash-and-burn agriculture, the cutting of bamboo and hunting. Its current range appears to be restricted to an approximately 50 km stretch of humid forests in the Ranomafana region. Ranomafana National Park and the Andringitra Nature Reserve are the only protected areas in Madagascar in which this species is known to occur. Estimates of the greater bamboo lemur’s population do not exceed 1,000 animals.