"They look dead upon observation," said researcher Anne Yoder, Director of Duke Lemur Center. She said both Crosley's and Sibree's body temperatures get extremely cold, completely idle, and only breathing once in a few minutes or more.
Yoder and her colleagues captured several lemurs and put on a temperature detection device before releasing them in the wildlife. As published in Scientific Reports earlier this month, the team discovered that lemurs' hibernation depends on which part of Madagascar they reside.
On the East part of the island, these lemurs bury themselves in the rain forest maintaining a comfortable temperature during the hibernation. Whilst on the West part, they tend to shelter in trees, with their body heat fluctuations following the temperature changes. Scientist presumed Western Lemurs use trees since there is no soft spot to bury themselves.
However, scientists remain uncertain of what triggered these lemurs to hibernate. The digging trait is certainly odd in the tropical forest. Most mammals spend their winter underground only in Arctic or other areas with extreme temperatures at winter time. The scientists hope that by learning the lemurs' behavior, they will be able to predict the possibility of human hibernation.
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