Greater Bamboo Lemur, Prolemur simus

Greater Bamboo Lemur
Prolemur simus (Gray, 1871)
Madagascar
(2002, 2004)
Once widespread throughout the island of Madagascar, the greater bamboo lemur now holds onto life in a few scattered pockets on the southeastern coast.

Formerly in the genus Hapalemur, Groves (2001) placed the greater bamboo lemur in the genus Prolemur based on a suite of distinctive dental and chromosomal characteristics (Vuillaume-Randriamanantena et al., 1985; Macedonia and Stanger, 1994; Stanger-Hall, 1997). As its common name implies, the greater bamboo lemur is the largest of Madagascar’s bamboo-eating lemurs (Albrecht et al., 1990). Genetic studies further support its separation from the other bamboo lemurs and suggest that Hapalemur may, in fact, be more closely related to the genus Lemur (Rumpler et al., 1989; Macedonia and Stanger, 1994; Stanger-Hall, 1997). Historical records (Schwarz, 1931) and sub-fossil remains confirm that it was once widespread throughout the island (Godfrey and Vuillaume-Randriamanantena, 1986; Wilson et al., 1988; Godfrey et al., 1999).
Documented populations are very patchily distributed and restricted to the south-central portion of the country’s eastern rain forests, including those of Kianjavato, Ranomafana and Andringitra National Parks (and the corridor between them), Evendra (near Ivato, southeast of Andringitra), Karianga (near Vondrozo), and possibly the forest fragments south of Ifanadiana (Meier and Rumpler, 1987; Wright et al., 1987; Sterling and Ramaroson, 1996; Goodman et al., 2001b; Irwin et al., 2005). Recent unpublished reports also indicate its presence in the forests of Karianga, northwest of Manombo (E. E. Louis, Jr., pers. comm.) and north up to the region of Moramanga (Dolch et al., 2004; Rakotosamimanana et al., 2004).
Shoots, young and mature leaves, and pith of the bamboo Cathariostachys madagascariensis can account for as much as 95% of the diet (Tan, 1999, 2000). Other food items include flowers of the traveler’s palm (Ravenala madagascariensis), and fruits of Artocarpus integrifolia, Ficus spp. and Dypsis spp., and leaves of Pennisetum clandestinum (Meier and Rumpler, 1987).
Observations of animals in the wild and captivity suggest that P. simus is cathemeral (Santini-Palka, 1994; Tan, 1999, 2000). They live in polygynous groups of seven to 11 animals occupying home ranges of 60 ha or more (Sterling and Ramaroson, 1996; Tan, 1999, 2000).
The greater bamboo lemur is threatened by slash-and-burn agriculture, illegal logging, the cutting of bamboo and hunting with slingshots (Meier, 1987; Meier and Rumpler, 1987). It has vanished from most of its former range and only a few relatively small populations have been documented thus far in the southeast. Hunting and habitat destruction are the presumed causes. It occurs in the national parks of Ranomafana and Andringitra (although limited by suitable microhabitat within these protected areas), and perhaps a thousand or more individuals inhabit the Ranomafana region, but not all within the national park.
Opportunities exist to extend protection to lemur populations in neighboring forests, as well as to develop a fairly long corridor of protected forests between Ranomafana and Andringitra, within which it is presumed other greater bamboo lemur populations will be found.

William R. Konstant, Jörg U. Ganzhorn & Steig Johnson

References
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Arrigo-Nelson, S. J. and Wright, P. C. 2004. Survey results from Ranomafana National Park: New evidence for the effects of habitat preference and disturbance on the distribution of Hapalemur. Folia Primatologica 75: 331–334.
Dolch, R., Hilgartner, R. D., Ndriamiary, J.-N. and Randriamahazo, H. 2004. “The grandmother of all bamboo lemurs”: evidence for the occurrence of Hapalemur simus in fragmented rainforest surrounding the Torotorofotsy marshes, Central Eastern Madagascar. Lemur News 9: 24–26.
Godfrey, L. R. and Vuillaume-Randriamanantena, M. 1986. Hapalemur simus: Endangered lemur once widespread. Primate Conservation (7): 92–96.
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Irwin, M. T., Johnson S. E. and Wright, P. C. In press. The state of lemur conservation in southeastern Madagascar: Population and habitat assessments for diurnal lemurs using surveys, satellite imagery and GIS. Oryx 39.
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Suggested citation:
Konstant, W. R., Ganzhorn, J. R. and Johnson, S. 2005. Greater Bamboo Lemur, Prolemur simus (Gray, 1871). In: Primates in Peril: The World's 25 Most Endangered Primates 2004-2006, R. A. Mittermeier, C. Valladares-Pádua, A. B. Rylands, A. A. Eudey, T. M. Butynski, J. U. Ganzhorn, R. Kormos, J. M. Aguiar and S. Walker (eds.), pp.12-13. Report to IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group (PSG), International Primatological Society (IPS) and Conservation International (CI), Washington, DC.