primates
LEMURS
Found only in Madagascar, lemurs evolved independently from other primates and in incredible diversity – until humans arrived on the island 2,000 years ago, there were lemurs the size of gorillas. Nowadays, they range from the 30g mouse lemur to the 9kg indri with its haunting, song-like call. They display different attributes and habits, but are predominantly nocturnal – lemur derives from the Latin for ‘ghost’ – so any tour is going to involve guided night walks.
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Book it: Kuoni’s 14-night Madagascar Wildlife Tour, from £3,852, will get clients tracking all sorts of lemurs.
kuoni.co.uk
5 MACAQUES
In a world in which most primates seem to be at risk, it’s cheering that it’s almost the opposite with macaques. These absurdly confident monkeys are highly adaptable across a range of climates and habitat. Anyone who has visited Gibraltar, with its population of Barbary macaques, knows they rarely show any fear of humans. Some of the most unusual macaque behaviour can be found in Japan, where ‘snow monkeys’ like to take a dip in the Jigokudani hot springs in Nagano.
Book it: Wendy Wu Tours’ 11-day Sapporo & Snow Monkeys itinerary starts at £4,990, including flights and a free business-class upgrade.
wendywutours.co.uk
GELADAS
These robust, snub-nosed creatures with a bright red chest patch live only in the high grasslands of central Ethiopia. At night, they sleep on ledges in cliffs, and by day, gather in vast groups – possible down to the abundance of their primary diet of grass. Resting in comfort on fatty sitting pads on their bottoms, geladas move with a unique, shuffling gait, ripping out handfuls of grass with sturdy fingers. We’re more accustomed to tree-dwelling primates, but geladas are the last surviving species of ancient grazing primates.
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Book it: Spot geladas while hiking on Explore’s 13-day Trekking Ethiopia’s Simien Mountains. Prices start at £2,190, excluding flights, for a January 17, 2020, departure that takes in the Timkat celebration, which marks Jesus’s baptism in the Jordan River.
explore.co.uk
travelweekly.co.uk/atas
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