Details
Indri indri
The indri is one of Madagascar's largest lemurs. With a short tail and long hind legs, pair groups send loud songs across forest valleys.
Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)
It is restricted to Madagascar's forests, especially humid eastern canopy forest. Continuous tall forest is essential for movement and feeding.
Length 64-72 cm; weight 6-9.5 kg. Black-and-white fur, rounded ears, a very short tail, and long leaping hind legs are distinctive. It often clings upright to trunks.
Diurnal and pair-living, it lives in family groups. Loud duets advertise territory, and movement is by vertical leaps between trees.
A herbivore, it eats young leaves, mature leaves, flowers, and fruit. It selects canopy foliage and shifts foods seasonally.
Females bear single infants at long intervals and care for them for an extended period. Young cling to the belly or back while learning to leap and feed.
It is listed as Critically Endangered. Deforestation, slash-and-burn agriculture, and fragmentation are severe threats, and captive breeding is difficult.
