Zoboomafoo… is a Mother?

A Piece of my Childhood in Nature

Coquerel’s Sifaka (Propithecus coquereli) at Peyrieras Sanctuary

Welcome back! In this post I’ll be talking about Coquerel’s Sifaka, a species that will be extremely recognizable to anyone who, like me, grew up watching Zoboomafoo and the Wild Kratts. During our whole trip, my friend and I had been referencing Wild Kratts constantly (one day we even accidentally showed up to the hike wearing navy blue and dark green button down field shirts), so seeing this animal in real life was pretty funny.

I did not see this animal in the wild, but rather at a reptile reserve (the same place most of the chameleon and gecko photos from my previous posts are from), in semi-wild conditions. The family group living at the reserve had been rescued from wildlife trafficking and was being rehabilitated, but they were not confined to enclosures and were free to move around the forest as they pleased. Although I would’ve preferred to see it in its natural habitat, this group being semi-wild allowed us to get so much closer than we may have been able to otherwise, and I captured some of my favorite lemur photos of the trip.

Coquerel’s Sifaka eating a piece of fruit.

During our encounter, the caretakers lured the lemurs toward us with fruit. Seeing them be fed from a human hand was an odd experience after spending so much time with wild animals; it felt like I was back home at a zoo. Even though this was only a temporary arrangement for these animals until they have recovered, it was still a bit jarring. At the same time, most zoos do not offer animal encounters that are this personal and without barriers, making it a special experience nonetheless.

Seeing this animal up close allowed me to see once again how human lemurs are. Its eyes in particular are so unbelievably intelligent; watching it study us, examine branches, calculate jumps, and more was so fascinating.

A very pensive Coquerel’s Sifaka

Above all, the most special part of this encounter was that this lemur was a new mother. I had seen a few adorable juvenile lemurs during my trip, but this was my first time seeing a newborn that was too young to even leave its mother’s arms. The baby was so tiny, clinging tightly to its mother. We were lucky enough to see it attempt to move around a little bit, likely taking some of its first steps. The way it moved was so similar to a human baby: crawling around with a staggered motion, clear that it is as confused about how it moves as we are watching it.

Coquerel’s Sifaka with newborn.

For an animal that moves so quickly, it’s a wonder that a baby this small can stay with its mother. Sifakas in particular jump between trees vertically, so it is insane for me to imagine this little 2 week old creature clinging tightly enough to not fall off on every jump. Just like its jumps, though, the way the mother cared for her child was graceful and gentle. She did not hold it like a human mother holds her baby, but the way she sat with it in her lap had a similar maternal energy.

Coquerel’s Sifakas are critically endangered according to the IUCN, only found in extremely fragmented habitats in northwestern Madagascar. The reserve these photos are from is near Andasibe, far from their native range. Their main threat is habitat loss from clearing of forests for human development, which is made worse because their range is already extremely fragmented. Hunting is also a threat, despite local taboos. Recent immigration to the region (which fuels further habitat destruction) has lessened the importance of these taboos because newcomers are not involved with local traditions.

Thank you for reading this week! This was such a fun encounter because of the baby, and because it was like seeing Zoboomafoo come to life. Tune in next week for the penultimate post from Madagascar!