BALTIMORE, MD – Maryland Zoo today announced the birth of a Coquerel’s sifaka (Propithecus coquereli). The yet to be named female weighed .116 kg (about 4 ounces) when she was born on March 2.
“Sifaka babies are very small when they’re born and need the protection of their mothers as they nurse to get stronger,” said Erin Cantwell Grimm, Mammal Curator at Maryland Zoo. “We gave the pair lots of time to bond behind the scenes and are pleased the public can now see them regularly.”
Sifaka, which is pronounced shi-fauk-ah, are named after their distinctive alarm call. This is the second baby born to father, Terence, and mother, Arcadia, through a breeding recommendation by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) Sifaka Species Survival Plan© – a population management initiative to grow the population and maintain its genetic diversity.
Currently, the sifaka family can be seen on a rotating basis inside the Zoo’s Chimpanzee Forest. With the arrival of warmer weather they will be regularly viewable at the outside habitats along Lemur Lane.
Sifaka are named after their distinctive alarm call. They have a unique brown and white coloration and are distinguished from other lemurs by the way that they move, maintaining a very upright posture and using their back legs to leap through the treetops. They can easily leap more than 20 feet in a single bound. On the ground, they spring sideways off their back feet to cover distance while holding their forelimbs out for balance.
Coquerel’s sifaka are native only to the island of Madagascar off the southeastern coast of Africa. They spend most of their lives in the treetops in two protected areas in the sparse dry, deciduous forests on the northwestern side of the island. As with many species of lemur, Coquerel’s sifaka are endangered. Habitat loss due to deforestation is the leading threat to the species.
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