All About Diademed Sifaka Lemurs

Common name: diademed sifaka.

Family: Indriidae, Genus: Propithecus, Species: diadema

There are nine species of sifaka lemurs, but the diademed sifaka is the largest and most colorful of its genus. These energetic lemurs weigh anywhere from 6.5 to 7.5 kg (14.3 to 16.5 pounds), and mark their territory by rubbing their scent on trees. As frugivores, they mainly eat fruit, but they’re also known to snack on flowers and leaves.

Female Dominance in Lemurs

Diademed sifakas live in groups of three to nine individuals. Like almost all lemur species, they are female dominant. As birth-givers who require optimal energy consumption, females have feeding priority in their groups, and the males will always retreat from a branch if a female wants to feed there.

I studied and observed these beautiful lemurs in the Maromizaha rainforest corridor, where they live alongside the Indri indris I covered in my last blog post. Like Indri indris, diademed sifakas are critically endangered.

In fact, 95% of all lemur species are either critically endangered, endangered, or threatened. But through conservation education and the implementation of protected forest habitats like Maromizaha, conservationists are working toward reversing the decline of these incredibly unique primates.