More Fun than You Can Shake a Really Long Black and White Striped Tail At

Some animals just get all the attention. And in Madagascar, this is the animal that has stolen the show. Everyone wants to see ring-tailed lemurs. Hundreds or different frogs. More chameleons than any place on earth. Insects that look like aliens designed them. Thousands of strange and wonderful plants. But no, everyone wants to see King Julian and his ring-tailed buddies.

Well, fine. Here you go. I finally got to see some of these attention hogs on a recent trip south. Enjoy the cute pics, But I am going to force you to learn a bit as you go. I am a science teacher after all.

Ring-Tailed Lemur Fact #1:

There is no King Julian. There may be a Queen Julia though. Almost all mammals (furry, milk-drinking, not-hatched-from-an-egg animals) have kings or they just get along fine with no one in charge. But hyenas and ring-tailed lemurs kicked the kings out and have queens instead. A female runs the lemur troop. That's why a group of lemurs is called a matriarchy.

Ring-Tailed Lemur Fact #2:

Ring-Tails are talkative little lemurs. They are a teacher's nightmare; they never stop yapping. They have calls for everything. They moan, click, purr. They talk to each other to keep the group together as they bound and walk through the forest in search of food. And the yell to let everyone know a lemur-eatin' foe is nearby. Click here to listen to some samples.

Ring-Tailed Lemur Fact #3:

Though they still love the trees as much as the next lemur, Ring-tailed lemurs do spend more time on the ground than any other Malagasy prosimian (lemur).

Ring-Tailed Lemur Fact #4:

Madagascar is in the tropics, but that doesn't mean it's nice and warm all the time. Nights can be chilly. That is why ring-tails like to plop down and face the sun in the morning for a good ol' tanning session. They face the sun and expose their thinly-furred belly to the warm sunshine. And if the night is particularly nippy, the lemurs huddle together to form a big toasty lemur ball. Now how cute is that?

Ring-Tailed Lemur Fact #5:

Being a boy lemur can really stink. That's not exactly right. Let me try that again. Boy lemurs can really stink. There, that's better. Both boys and girls have scent glands they use to mark their troop's territory, but the boys also use their foul cologne to fight. Stink fight to be precise. They rub their stink on their tails and then duel it out to be king. (Ok, not king. We already learned that isn't true in the first fact.) And when it comes time to mate and make baby lemurs, the boys use their stinky tails to attract the girls. I guess lemurs don't care for flowers and chocolate.

Ring-Tailed Lemur Fact #6:

Lemurs are not endangered, but they are classified as Near Threatened which means they are on their way to endangered if they aren't protected. And actually it isn't the lemurs that need protecting; it is their forests. Farming, grazing, mining, you name it. It is destroying the trees of Madagascar. Nine out every ten trees have been cut down. And since Madagascar is a very poor country, people do what they can for food and money. That means that sometimes people eat lemurs or capture them and sell them as pets. But the Malagasy government and many environmental groups are doing their best to make sure Ring-tail lemurs always have a home.

Malagasy Money

Malagasy money usually has more dirt on it than a 4 year old boy.

When it is clean, crisp and new, it is quite nice. This is a 100 ariary bill. It is like a US $100 except a US $100 bill can buy a lot and a 100 ariary bill can't. It is actually the smallest bill. Everything smaller is only in coins. That means instead of a $20 bill there is a $20 coin.

This is the largest bill, the 10,000 ariary note. It is worth about US $5. It isn't the biggest bill in the world. There is even a US $10,000 bill. But nothing beats the $100,000,000,000,000 bill from Zimbabwe. I am not making this up.

The 10,000 ariary bill is also special, because it is probably the only money in the world that features a dump truck and commemorates road construction.

Here is a 10 ariary coin. Let's compare it to a US $10 bill. How many cents or pennies are in a US $10 bill? I'll give you a second...right, 1,000. Now how many iraimbilanja (Malagasy pennies) are in a 10 ariary coin? 1,000. Nope. Try 50.

Almost every where currency is a dollar (1) and cents (100 parts of that 1) thing. There are only two countries in the entire world that do not break down their money into decimals. Mauritania and Madagascar. The base unit of Malagasy currency, the ariary, can be divided not into 100 equal sub units, but only 5. Each sub unit is called a iraimbilanja.

But in reality, that 10 ariary coin is worth about nothing. Or rather, it can buy about nothing. Even a small piece of hard candy usually costs 20 ariary. A lot of stores just ignore anything less than 100 ariary when it comes to making change. In over a year in Madagascar, I think I have used a coin or coins only twice to buy something. The economy runs on dirty bills not clunky coins.

Between a Rock and a Hard Science

I am heading out to do some real science, some real and fun science. For the next 3 weeks, I will be out and about on the granite rocks of south central Madagascar. My wife and her fellow scientists will collecting and study the amazing endemic plants that grow only these amazing rock outcroppings. I will tagging along with my climbing gear to help collect the hard-to-reach plants on the steep bits.

Since we will be traveling to different locations every few days, I may not be able to post or respond to your comments normally. Please be patient and the blog will be back to normal in a few weeks when we get back.

Then you can learn all about the tremendously cool plants we find.

Virtual Field Trip: Croc Farm

When taking kids on a field trip, it is always best to do a head count. But since I took the 3rd, 4th and 5th graders from Akany Avoko to a crocodile farm, I thought it best to be thorough and do hand, finger, foot and toe counts too. And when all was said and done, we were all accounted for down to the very last toe.

And what did the excited Malagasy students learn at the crocodile farm? Well, why don't you tag along for a virtual field trip and find out?

Right, welcome to the Croc Farm. Make sure to stick with your buddy and no sharing your sandwich with the man-eating reptiles. Last chance, anyone need to tinkle? Good, let's get started.

Crocodiles are pointy-toothed time machines. That doesn't mean you can crawl inside one and zap yourself to the future. In fact, I would advise you to never crawl inside a crocodile. (Except for perhaps you, William.) Crocodiles are like a time machine, because when you look at one you are looking backwards 200 million years!

Dinosaurs saw the same kind of crocodiles that you see. That is because crocodiles are nearly perfect reptiles. Unlike Sally's spelling, there really isn't much room for improvement. They pretty much stay the same.

Most animals and plants change over time as certain genetic mutations and features work out better than the ones their parents and grandparents had. The new slightly different animals or plants do well and have lots of babies. Do that for millions of years and things can really change. But crocodiles don't really change anymore. They made all the right adaptations a long time ago.

Yes, Timmy?

"What are some of those adaptations that make them so perfect?"

Excellent question, but please take your finger out of your nose while I answer it. Thanks.

Well, for one thing check out that long, strong tail. That puppy is chock full of muscles. It can use it to gently swim through the water or ambush a poor defenseless bird that was just trying to have a little drink. Poor bird.

Their fat webbed feet aren't used for paddling. They are used to steer and to support their body as they walk, run and even hop on land. No small feat considering a large crocodile can weigh as much as a car.

They don't hunt down their food. They use their excellent camouflage (and patience) to wait for food to come just a bit too close before they ambush it and bite down with their world famous jaws.

A crocodile can really bite. I know Ruby, your little sister can really bite too, but she is nothing compared to a crocodile. Their bite is 5,000 pounds per square inch. Yeah, what does that mean. I get it. Well, let's compare it to another toothsome foe, the great white shark. That seal-eating super fish can only chomp down with a measly 400 pounds per square inch.

But with all those big muscles used to bite down, there aren't many left over to open the mouth back up, so a crocodile is a bit of a weakling too. Even you could hold a crocodile's mouth shut, Pete (even though you don't seem to be able to keep your own shut for more than two seconds).

Now let's shuffle over to the next pond.

Crocodiles are cold-blooded; just like math teachers. Just kidding, Mr. Weedle. Thanks for coming today and please put down that rock. Right, you are able to eat delicious food (or the food they serve in the cafeteria) and turn that food into energy and heat. That means you are warm-blooded. You pretty much stay at 37.5 degrees Celsius. Cold-blooded animals can't really warm themselves up. They have to get some help from the sun. Their blood can get hot and cold and it doesn't really hurt them.

Crocodiles can't sweat to cool off like you. So when they get a bit past toasty, they open up their mouths to cool off like a dog. They can take a swim to cool off too. To warm up, they drag their big bellies up onto a nice beach to catch some rays and maybe eat a wildebeest.

In Madagascar, there are some special crocodiles that have learned--eyes on me, Lester--to love the cold. They are the only crocodiles in the world that live in caves. Caves are cold. That means the crocodiles are cold. And when a cold-blooded animal gets cold, they get slow. And in the Madagascar cave crocodiles' case--sorry, head up and eyes on me, Lester--they get so cold they can't even eat. They have to get out into the sun to warm up enough to have a meal. It's not too much of a hassle though. Some of them only eat once a year. And during certain times of the--right, that's it! Mr. Weedle, would you kindly pick up Lester and feed him to the crocodiles?

Thank you.

Yes, Becky?

"Why does Lester get to play with the crocodiles and the rest of us don't?"

Because I like him best. Now let's move on.

Take a close look at the crocodile skin. It may look old, rough and clunky, but it's really top-of-the-line high-tech stuff. It has special receptors that allow it to feel even the tiniest movement in the water. And the scales are so tough and protective that some tribes in Africa even used the skin as shields. A crocodile's armored outer shell even helps on chilly mornings. There are thousands and thousands of small capillaries running with blood just beneath the thick bits. The scales absorb the sun's heat and transfer it to the blood. Nifty, no?

Simon?

"This is getting boring?"

Simon, you're getting an F for today, but you don't see me complaining do you?

Fine, I'll shut my trap about the wonderful world of crocodiles and we'll see what else the Croc Farm has to offer.

"Mr. Lebo, the ostrich looks angry."

Oh, it's probably just upset, because it can't fly. Or that it's so far from home. Ostriches never lived in Madagascar. They did have elephant birds though and they were almost twice as tall.

Here, you can see two very special turtles who appear to be in love or involved in some sort of turtle car accident. The little one in the midst of being run over is a radiated tortoise. One of them lived to be 188 years old making it the oldest known living animal. And the big one doing the running over is a Seychelles giant tortoise and it is one of the largest tortoises in the world. Madagascar used to be crawling with similar giant tortoises, but they became extinct shortly after people arrived about 2,500 years ago.

"Mr. Lebo, why would people be so mean to big lovable turtles?"

I don't know. Maybe because they asked too many questions.

Alright, that's it for blabbing. It's time for some fun. Take off your shoes and you can each have eleven seconds to enjoy the bounce and wonder of the trampoline...................... ...................................Excellent, fun is over.

"But you said we could have ice cream?"

I also said you wouldn't have homework this weekend. Do you believe everything I say?

Oh, for goodness sakes, stop crying or you can all go help Lester wrestle the crocodile.

"I almost got her, Mr. Lebo! Ouch. I think she's getting tired. Ow! Pointy teeth. So many pointy teeth. Ow!"

Good work, Lester. Now, while the crocodile finishes her snack, we can all go have some ice cream...if it will keep you from whining.

"Thank you, Mr. Lebo!"

Yeah, yeah.

Ok, it's the real Mr. Lebo here. Not the mean one from the virtual field trip we just took. I just want to let you know that the real thanks don't go to me. They go to Mrs. Schwimmer in Princeton, NJ for being ever so kind and loving by donating her own birthday money to help send the kids from Akany Avoko on a wonderful, wonderful field trip to the quite real Croc Farm. And, yes, we did get ice cream on the way home. And, no, none of the kids spilled it all over their nice clean shirts. I was the only one to do that.

If you are interested in sending the kids of Akany Avoko children's home on another cool field trip, please email me at chad_lebo@monet.prs.k12.nj.us to find out how.

The Other Side

Life for most kids in America means clean clothes to put on in the morning, a free school they can go to, three good meals a day and plenty of safe water to drink. Life for most kids in Madagascar is very different.

They may only have one or two sets of clothing. There are not many schools to even go to. And even if there is a school the books and uniforms are not and that is money their family does not have. They work as farmers and animal herders. They do not have electricity. They eat rice or boiled roots two times a day, three if they are lucky. The water they drink and wash in does not come from a clean sink. It comes from dirty soiled rivers and wells. There are very few doctors to help them if they are sick. There are not many toys to play with besides stones, old tires, plastic grocery bags and beat-up homemade toys trucks. Even if they could get books, most cannot read. Or do math. Because they do not get enough calories, vitamins or minerals, they are shorter and skinnier than most of the kids their age in the world.

It is not a life you know. It is not a life I knew. But it is most certainly the life they know. And most bear it with dignity. They do not complain or whine. It is even possible to find smiles on the faces of the children near me who live behind dumpsters and spend their days picking through the trash to find scraps they can eat or empty bottles they can sell.

This is not an easy problem to solve, but it should most certainly not be ignored. Talk to your families and your teachers and ask about some ways that you or you class may be able to remember or help those that the world and fortune have forgotten.

[Students and Teachers: If you are interested in helping the children of Madagascar, please email me at chad_lebo@monet.prs.k12.nj.us about the opportunities to help kids at the children's home where I work, Akany Avoko.]

All of the photos on this post were taken by last weekend in the small town of Ibity, Madagascar. When looking at these photos, keep this in mind: compared to most of the country, this village is not a poor one. It has a primary school, a local cement factory and good farmland.