Lemurs in Madagascar: How Did They Get There?
by Owen Borville
December 4, 2018
Biology
A popular question in creation science is how lemurs arrived to Madagascar, considering the 4,500 year time limit since the Genesis Flood and the distribution of animals around the world. A lemur is defined as an arboreal primate with a pointed snout and typically a long tail and are only found naturally in Madagascar. Madagascar is a large island located 260 miles (425 kilometers) southeast of the African continent in the Indian Ocean and is separated by the Mozambique Channel. So the question of lemur origin is an interesting one from a creationist perspective, in addition to the evolutionists, who also question the origin of lemurs. Many speculate that lemurs originated from Africa or Asia and somehow came to Madagascar, but the question is how. Since lemurs cannot swim, mainstream scientists have proposed an explanation. This explanation includes rafting, where lemurs "rafted" to Madagascar 50 million years ago on vegetation such as tree branches dumped in the ocean from storms. However, this is an unlikely explanation considering the width of the Mozambique Channel and the fact that the ocean current commonly flows in the opposite direction from the island, which would prevent any animal from rafting across this channel. The evolutionists would explain that ocean currents were more favorable 50 million years ago, but creationists operate within the 6,000-year time frame.
The most likely explanation is that lemurs were transported across the channel by humans in boats as Europeans traveled across the African coastline past Madagascar to the West Indies. Even earlier, after the Genesis Flood, Noah and his family could pass on the art of shipbuilding after the construction of the Ark and particularly as humans spread across the world. As humans spread across the world after the Flood and the Tower of Babel incident described in Genesis 11, they likely took animals with them. Humans have reportedly explored Madagascar as early as 500 B.C. but could possibly have arrived earlier, while many native human inhabitants are known by geneticists to have Polynesian descent. In addition, many predators of the lemur exist in Africa and Asia, so it is likely that lemurs could not survive in those places and thrived on the isolated island of Madagascar. Lemur fossils have been found in India, but scientists have had difficulty finding lemur fossils or remains in Africa outside the island of Madagascar.
Another proposed theory was the land-bridge theory, where a land-bridge connected Madagascar to the mainland, but many large mammals of Africa are not found in Madagascar. Therefore, the evidence points toward an Asian origin for lemurs, transported to Madagascar by humans after the Flood. Evolutionists also may hypothesize that lemurs "evolved" on Madagascar, but creationists have better explanations. Madagascar also has many other unique animals who have thrived in this unique and isolated place, and these animals were likely transported by human mariners by boat during the 4,500 years since the Genesis Flood.
by Owen Borville
December 4, 2018
Biology
A popular question in creation science is how lemurs arrived to Madagascar, considering the 4,500 year time limit since the Genesis Flood and the distribution of animals around the world. A lemur is defined as an arboreal primate with a pointed snout and typically a long tail and are only found naturally in Madagascar. Madagascar is a large island located 260 miles (425 kilometers) southeast of the African continent in the Indian Ocean and is separated by the Mozambique Channel. So the question of lemur origin is an interesting one from a creationist perspective, in addition to the evolutionists, who also question the origin of lemurs. Many speculate that lemurs originated from Africa or Asia and somehow came to Madagascar, but the question is how. Since lemurs cannot swim, mainstream scientists have proposed an explanation. This explanation includes rafting, where lemurs "rafted" to Madagascar 50 million years ago on vegetation such as tree branches dumped in the ocean from storms. However, this is an unlikely explanation considering the width of the Mozambique Channel and the fact that the ocean current commonly flows in the opposite direction from the island, which would prevent any animal from rafting across this channel. The evolutionists would explain that ocean currents were more favorable 50 million years ago, but creationists operate within the 6,000-year time frame.
The most likely explanation is that lemurs were transported across the channel by humans in boats as Europeans traveled across the African coastline past Madagascar to the West Indies. Even earlier, after the Genesis Flood, Noah and his family could pass on the art of shipbuilding after the construction of the Ark and particularly as humans spread across the world. As humans spread across the world after the Flood and the Tower of Babel incident described in Genesis 11, they likely took animals with them. Humans have reportedly explored Madagascar as early as 500 B.C. but could possibly have arrived earlier, while many native human inhabitants are known by geneticists to have Polynesian descent. In addition, many predators of the lemur exist in Africa and Asia, so it is likely that lemurs could not survive in those places and thrived on the isolated island of Madagascar. Lemur fossils have been found in India, but scientists have had difficulty finding lemur fossils or remains in Africa outside the island of Madagascar.
Another proposed theory was the land-bridge theory, where a land-bridge connected Madagascar to the mainland, but many large mammals of Africa are not found in Madagascar. Therefore, the evidence points toward an Asian origin for lemurs, transported to Madagascar by humans after the Flood. Evolutionists also may hypothesize that lemurs "evolved" on Madagascar, but creationists have better explanations. Madagascar also has many other unique animals who have thrived in this unique and isolated place, and these animals were likely transported by human mariners by boat during the 4,500 years since the Genesis Flood.