One of Madagascar’s most striking and rarest lemurs, a primate so special that it exists only in a tiny corner of the island’s northeast. It is often called the “black sifaka” because of its shimmering jet-black fur, which sets it apart dramatically from the white and golden sifakas found elsewhere. With its long limbs, silky coat, and piercing yellow eyes, the perrier’s sifaka looks like a shadowy ghost of the forest—mysterious, elegant, and deeply endangered.

Like other sifakas, Perrier’s sifakas are built for vertical leaping. They spend nearly all of their lives in the canopy, bounding from trunk to trunk with gravity-defying leaps of up to 10 meters (33 feet). On the rare occasions they descend to the ground, they use the sifaka’s signature sideways “dance-walk,” hopping upright with arms raised for balance.

Socially, Perrier’s sifakas live in small family groups of 2–6 individuals, with females often taking the lead. Their diet mostly comprises young leaves, fruits, flowers, and seeds. By consuming and dispersing seeds, they play an important role in maintaining the health of Madagascar’s fragile forests. Vocal communication is limited but distinctive—they use sharp calls to warn of predators like hawks or fossas, and gentler sounds to maintain contact within the group.

Sadly, Perrier’s sifaka is among the most endangered primates in the world, listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN. It is restricted to a very small range of dry deciduous and semi-humid forests in the Andrafiamena-Andavakoera region of northern Madagascar. Habitat loss from slash-and-burn agriculture, illegal logging, and charcoal production is the biggest threat, along with hunting in areas where traditional fady (taboos) do not protect it.

Distribution

Country

Population est.

Status

Year

Comments

Madagascar

125

Official estimate

CR

2018