Verraux’s Sifakas in the Spiny Forest

24th October 2015. Berenty, Madagascar.

The images in this post are from an early morning walk before breakfast, between 7am and 8am.

Verraux’s Sifaka is listed as vulnerable due to habitat loss from land clearing. Its main natural predator is the Fosa, though I presume there are no fosas here.

They live in groups of many males and females from 8 to 14 members. Their mating period is January and February, which is the only time they display aggression. They bear single young.

Here we see one feeding off leaves of a very spiky stem of a tree in the spiny forest. The spiny forest covers a large semi-desert area in the south of Madagascar and we are on the edge of it here.

They are well adapted for drought conditions and can if necessary gain sufficient moisture from succulent leaves and dew.

This is a characteristic early morning poise, sitting back and soaking in the sun.

Note the extra eye below.

Young one leaping from branch to branch.

A closeup of one of the spiny trees. Not so easy for a human to climb with bare hands and feet.

A chick of an unknown bird species.

9 comments on “Verraux’s Sifakas in the Spiny Forest”

Skyscapes for the Soul says:

July 28, 2016 at 4:17 am

The spiny trees look a lot like our Ocotillos.

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Murray Foote says:

July 28, 2016 at 5:47 pm

I can see the resemblance and ocotillos have leaves along their stems. Ocotillos though seem to be shrubs that clump from the base. These are trees that branch out from a single stem.

I’ll add another image to the last Berenty post “A Conspiracy of Lemurs”, in five posts time on 6 August, that shows a grove of these plants.

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Murray Foote says:

July 28, 2016 at 6:09 pm

You’re right! Alluaudia Procera or Madagascar Ocotillo, also known as Octopus Tree, can grow to 15 metres (50 feet).

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