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452 Featured Specimen
Indri

Details

Indri

Indri indri

Size
64–72 cm · 6–9.5 kg
Diet
Herbivore
Activity
Diurnal
Sociality
Pair
Lifespan
18–22 years

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.

Range

Habitat range map
Native range Occasional / Transient

Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)

Details

Habitat

It is restricted to Madagascar's forests, especially humid eastern canopy forest. Continuous tall forest is essential for movement and feeding.

Appearance

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.

Behavior

Diurnal and pair-living, it lives in family groups. Loud duets advertise territory, and movement is by vertical leaps between trees.

Feeding

A herbivore, it eats young leaves, mature leaves, flowers, and fruit. It selects canopy foliage and shifts foods seasonally.

Reproduction

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.

Notes

It is listed as Critically Endangered. Deforestation, slash-and-burn agriculture, and fragmentation are severe threats, and captive breeding is difficult.