For who knows how many generations, the natives of Madagascar did not eat lemurs because they thought their ancestors forbade it. Now, and I am not making this up, they are praying to their ancestors to lift the ban, reports Sara Reardon at Science Now.
Mostly because their kids, who are not big on ancestor worship, have already started munching on the tasty primates in the form of "bar snacks."
The thing is, lemurs aren't just squirrels with hands. They're prosimians, which means they're descendants of the last of our ancestors who weren't primates. They live in matriarchies, making them perhaps the closest human relative who does. Behaviorally, in some ways they are at least as valuable to science and our understanding of ourselves as chimpanzees. In general, they rock.
Here's a video of some Sifaka lemurs doing their thing. Really, this is what we want to have with beer?
