In Madagascar, you never know when you’ll see a lemur’s eyes peering out from inside a tree. This species is a red fronted brown lemur. I saw quite a few of them in the dry forests of southern Madagascar.
Nikon D200 with Nikkor 80-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 200, f/3.5 at 1/640th of a second

I saw quite a few of these little green day geckos in Madagascar. As the name would suggest, they are active mainly during the day (most other geckos are nocturnal). I saw this one scurrying down a tree in the dry western forest of Ankarafantsika National Park.
Nikon D200 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 200, f/5.6 at 1/60th of a second (-2/3 stop ev) Nikon SB-800 flash

Like just about half of all lemurs, the white footed sportive lemur is nocturnal. I photographed this one on my first of many night walks in Madagascar back in May of 2007. Contrary to the name, the white footed sportive lemur is quite inactive. This is an adaptation to its low-energy diet. In order to survive on the small amount of leaves that it eats, the lemur’s metabolic rate must be kept low.
Nikon D200 with Nikkor 80-200mm lens (at 130mm) ISO 200, f/4.5 at 1/60th of a second (-1 stop ev) Nikon SB-800 flash

Prickly pear cactus is a non-native plant introduced to southern Madagascar by the French in the 18th century. These days, the ring-tailed lemurs have become dependent upon it as a source water and food. This guy was munching away before taking a quick break to pose for a few shots.
Nikon D40x with Nikkor 18-55mm lens (at 20mm) ISO 100, f/4 at 1/50th of a second (-1/3 stop ev)

I had a request for a spider today, so I’m not to blame if your preference is for something a bit more cuddly. This lovely lady is a Madagascar golden orb spider that I photographed while in Ranomafana National Park. Females like this one can be quite large — about five inches in length, while the males are much smaller. In fact, you can see a male above the female and a bit to the left.
Nikon D200 with Nikkor 80-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 200, f/3.2 at 1/45th of a second (-2/3 stop ev)

Today’s owl comes from the southern spiny forests of Madagascar. As you can see, the owl blends in well with its thorny environment. It’s called the Malagasy scops owl, but also answers to the rainforest scops owl or the Madagascar scops owl.
Nikon D200 with Nikkor 80-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 100, f/5.6 at 0.5 seconds

I figured an animated gif might be the best way to illustrate the changing colors of a short horned chameleon (also known as an elephant eared chameleon). The first shot, when the chameleon was a nice colorful blue and green, was how I first encountered the animal on a night hike in Madagascar’s Ranomafana National Park. The next two shots show how the color of the skin quickly turned to brown as the chameleon reacted to my presence and flash. This change happened almost immediately as the shots were all taken within thirty seconds.
Nikon D200 with Nikkor 80-200mm lens (at 80mm) ISO 200, f/22 at 1/60th of a second (-0.33 ev)

The western woolly lemur is listed as endangered due to its very limited habitat. It is confined to a small area of dry forest in western Madagascar — and even within this small area, suitable habitat is very fragmented. They mostly live in Ankarafantsika National Park, where I saw this young western woolly on a night hike back in 2007.
Nikon D200 with Nikkor 600mm manual focus lens, ISO 320, f/5.6 at 1/60th of a second, Nikon SB-800 flash

Here’s another shot that I never posted to the blog, although it’s been in my “Madagascar” gallery for a while. This is a mother Coquerel’s sifaka and her baby. Most baby lemurs are born in the fall. These guys are an exception and are born in June and July. This one was about two weeks old. It was very difficult photographing these babies. First of all there weren’t many of them, but also, the mothers were very protective and kept them tucked away and out of sight. Even though I was quite far away with a 600mm lens, if they saw me, they’d shift to hide the baby and retreat into the middle of a large tree. This shot was a finalist last year in the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the year competition in the endangered species category, but ultimately it didn’t make the show.
Nikon D200, Nikkor 600mm f/5.6 manual focus lens, ISO f/5.6 at 1/60th of a second

Seems like as good a day as any to post a lemur. This particular guy is an eastern grey bamboo lemur and I spotted him in central Madagascar in Andasibe-Mantadia National Park. There are several species of bamboo lemurs, or as they are also known, gentle lemurs. They get their name due to the fact that they primarily eat bamboo. It is unknown, however, how they detoxify the high level of cyanide that is found in bamboo.
Nikon D200 with Nikkor 80-200mm lens (at 120mm) ISO 400, f/2.8 at 1/125th of a second