Ring-tail lemur Source: Wikimedia Commons
However, one of my favorite lemur groups are the sifakas (pronounced shif-auk). They are named after the alarm call they make and there are nine species/subspecies. Unlike the ring-tails that walk on all fours, the sifakas remain upright and are like aerial acrobats in the trees leaping from branch to branch using their powerful hind legs instead of their arms. One leap from tree to tree can measure up to 30 feet. And when on the ground they leap on two legs with great panache looking a little more like kangaroos than primates.
Verreaux's Sifaka Photo by Simon Harrap Source: Bird Quest
The sifakas eat leaves (from as many as one hundred different varieties of plants), flowers, fruit, and even tree bark when other food is scarce. The smaller golden-crowned sifaka is one of the more unusual looking.
Source: The Travel Word
The word lemur comes from the lemures (ghosts and spirits) of Roman mythology and none fit this description so well as the Silky Sifaka. I'm sure you could easily believe you see a ghost moving through the trees with this species.
Silky Sifaka Photo: Jeff Gibbs Source: Wikimedia
The Silky Sifaka and Perrier's Sifaka are the most endangered with estimates of individuals possibly numbering only in the hundreds.
Perrier's Sifaka Source: Madagascar Biodiversity Partnership
Sifakas live in family groups from 6 to 15 individuals. The females are the dominant ones and usually remain in the group in which they were born, but the males may change groups several times during their life.
Coquerel's Sifaka Source: St. Louis Zoo
For a video of these leaping wonders, click here. And also here.
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