Synopsis

Rising 600ft from the dry savannahs of northern Madagascar, the Ankarana Massif hides its zoological riches behind a fortress of unclimable cliffs, vicious limestone pinnacles and ferocious thorny scrub.

Entering the Lost World through 60 miles of caves and along deep forested gorges, Jane Wilson found not dinosaurs but other gentler ecological curiosities: a wealth of lemurs, strange endemic birds, chamaeleons, blind fish and much more. Ankarana has its guardians too, 20-foot long crocodiles live in the subterranean rivers and six-inch hairy spiders, lethal scorpions and huge venomous centipedes patrol the sunken forests.

Interspersed with descriptions of the entertaining lemurs come accounts of the hardships, disappointments, dangers and excitements of exploring the Crocodile Caves and the isolated forests, providing a glimpse of the realities of the ecological fieldwork, conservation dilemmas, the personalities of the team, the Antankarana locals and their strange rituals.

How I came to write Lemurs of the Lost World

It was all my husband’s fault. We married just after the second Madagascar expedition and almost immediately he was posted to Embilipitiya in southern Sri Lanka. There were two wars going on at the time: the much publicised one involving the Tamil Tigers in the north and the one featured in Anil’s Ghost in the south; we were in the thick of that one.

My attempts to set up a maternal and child health outreach programme with local volunteers didn’t work out. Some days I’d see 150 or 200 patients, another day there would be less than a dozen, because the JVP terrorists had told people to stay away. With no real role except that of memsahib, I started to write about my adventures in Madagascar; I had plenty of time and no distractions but wasn’t confident that I could complete a book.

I decided to draft the first four chapters or so, try approaching a publisher and if I was rejected, I’d abandon my idea to become an author. The late John G Murray though was encouraging, and Tony Colwell, Joe Simpson’s first publisher, also gave me some useful feedback. Sadly both these gentlemen publishers have now passed on but not before motivating me to complete my tale.

Opening paragraphs

Something disturbed the water deep inside the cave - it was the sort of noise a large animal would make sliding into a river. After so many days alone my mind ran riot. I tried to counter fear with logic. If there were crocodiles in my bathroom I would surely have encountered them by now, for I had swum the entire length of the little subterranean river several times. Perhaps it was mud sliding into the water. There had been only one splash and the ripples died away, as they always did. I strained to hear more but there was nothing in there. Still I could not convince myself that I was safe. My bath was hurried and I was soon out, dripping dry on a boulder, relaxed and enjoying the view out of the cave once again. Blue sky and fluffy clouds were framed by black limestone and green leaves of the trees outside.

As I stood up to leave I noticed a gentle grunting noise and, looking towards the entrance, saw the unmistakable silhouette of a Crowned Lemur. She paused, with her long tail held over her body like a furry question mark. She had spotted me. I stood motionless, hardly daring to breathe. If I frightened her away from her waterhole now, she might warn others not to return. Looking away, she grunted softly as if speaking to a friend outside. Then, reassured, the rest of her troop arrived, looked in my direction and, to my amazement, continued on their way down, descending the same familiar climb I had used… For generations, lemurs must have been coming here: tiny feet and hands had polished the rocks smooth down to the water.

Fragment
(from pp 44-5)

An hour before sunset we reached Ambatoharanana. I was dying for a pee again. Abdulla invited us to see his hôpital. I accepted with as much enthusiasm as my bursting bladder allowed. I prayed that his hospital would be small. Abdulla led us through the village: a muddle of tiny houses, most thatched and all perched on stilts. The ‘hospital’ was not much larger than the other houses. It too was on stilts but had a corrugated iron roof which made it stiflingly hot and airless inside. There were four beds, each with a mosquito net full of holes. Under one, lying on plastic sheeting instead of bed linen, lay a man who groaned and rocked his aching abdomen. Perspiration poured off his emaciated body. Abdulla demonstrated his training and how ill his patient was by prodding him sharply in the stomach. The invalid curled up and his groaning grew louder. I felt sick. Aides sanitaires [like Abdulla], who are male, educated and leading village figures, are given a whole year’s training to provide a basic primary health care service. They organise immunisations, treat what they can with penicillin, chloroquine, aspirin and antiseptic, and can refer patients to the doctor. He showed us his meagre dispensary while I tried tactfully to ask about the man with belly-ache. Would the doctors come and see him? Shouldn’t he be evacuated to Ambilobé?

‘Maybe tomorrow,’ came Abdulla’s answer.

Abdulla asked if we wanted to use the bathroom. Baffled, but hopeful still of finding somewhere discreet to squat, I said ‘Yes’, and he led us out between the little huts to the edge of the village and waved vaguely towards some kapok trees.

(from p49)

The long day speeding across the desiccated savannah had turned us brick-red; smiling sent dust slicks avalanching off our faces. We stank of stale sweat and paraffin.

Reviews

Excellent appetiser Excellent travel adventure story & introduction to peoples, animals & environments in Madagascar. If you're thinking about going on an expedition to somewhere like Madagascar and fancy a dry-run in an armchair first, this is your book.
Pete Kay (N.Yorks) posted on amazon

“the finest travel book thus far written about Madagascar”
Dervla Murphy in Times Literary Supplement, London

“excellent and exciting”
Good Book Guide

“fascinating firsthand account of expedition life and work, as well as an exciting glimpse of the flora and fauna of Madagascar.”
Geographical Magazine, London

“Wilson’s nicely written and highly entertaining account is full of lively and colourful anecdotes.”
New Scientist, London

“an absorbing account of a unique place.”
The Geographical Journal

“a delightful account of exploring the caves and wildlife of the amazing Ankarana limestone.”
Primate Eye

“this book fleshes out the ups and downs of the expedition… it is useful, lively background reading for anyone contemplating an expedition anywhere.”
Oryx

“very readable book… clearly demonstrates that idealistic adventurers still exist.”
The Friend

“describes the zoological wealth of the caves and forests of northern Madagascar.”
Nature (London)

Where to buy

From the author (signed by the author) for £5 including p&p inland; apply c/o The Travel Clinic, 41 Hills Road, Cambridge, CB2 1NT or

Send a check for US$10 to PO Box 1135, Great Falls, Va 22066 USA or

From www.amazon.co.uk and www.nhbs.com