Coquerel's Sifaka

Coquerel’s sifaka (Propithecus coquereli) are delicate leaf-eaters from the dry northwestern forests of Madagascar. The Sifaka of Madagascar are distinguished from other lemurs by their mode of locomotion: these animals maintain a distinctly vertical posture and leap through the trees using just the strength of their back legs. Their spectacular method of locomotion is known as vertical clinging and leaping and their long, powerful legs can easily propel them distances of over 20 feet from tree to tree. On the ground, the animals cross treeless areas just as gracefully, by an elegant bipedal sideways hopping. The Malagasy name ‘sifaka’ comes from the distinct call this animal makes as it travels through the trees: “shif-auk.” Coquerel’s Sifaka feed on young leaves, flowers, fruit, bark and dead wood in the wet season, and mature leaves and buds in the dry season. Leaves make up a significant portion of the sifaka diet both in the wild as well as in captivity. In fact, the digestive system of these folivorous primates requires that a certain percentage of the diet be in the form of browse. As many as 98 different plant species have been recorded in their diet. However, only 12 of these plants make up two thirds of the diet. Foraging activities occupy between 30 and 40% of the day. During the warmer months, sifakas at the Lemur Center receive a daily selection of fresh browse harvested from nearby fields and forests. This browse consists of a variety of some of the ten different species of North Carolina leaves the sifakas enjoy. In the fall, six chest freezers are each filled with packages of sumac leaves, so that our sifakas have leaves to eat during the winter months.