I did all of the above on Sunday at Jungle Island, thanks to my friend Paul's daughter-in-law Augusta, who serves as head of Guest Relations at that remarkable tourist attraction on the MacArthur Causeway between Miami and Miami Beach.. Augusta assigned a young woman named Nina to guide us "back of the house" and the experience was fabulous. I'm not sure how many people have ever experienced sitting on the floor with a dozen furry little creatures leaping on, over and around you in their frantic search for food! food! more food!. The handful of chopped up apple we each had started with was gone in the first few seconds, but that didn't stop the onslaught, not for a minute.
Lemurs, I learned, are native to Madagascar, that strange endangered habitat in the middle of the Indian Ocean. I talk about all the endangered plant life in Madagascar during my tram tours at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, but these adorable little creatures were much more fun than any botanical wonder. As for the giant Seychelles turtle, Nina instructed me to only let him eat half way up the carrot. The turtle I fed obviously didn't get the memo. He opened wide and came down frighteningly close to my not so steady hand with one big crunch! By the way, both he and his companion are estimated to be 100+ years of age. There are no real records because they outlive everybody who keeps tabs on them.If you love animals as much as I do, you will love a visit to Jungle Island, even if you don't get lucky enough to have a one-on-one with a loveable little lemur. If you are up for a private tour, be sure to ask for Nina. She's the best!
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Captions:
Above right: Feeding #85, the giant turtle
Left: Nina, our guide, with a Capuchin monkey
Right: Lemurs, lemurs, everywhere!
Below: Heads up! There's a lemur on my shoulder.
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