The state of sifaka exhibits in zoos

DavidBrown

DavidBrown

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
It seems like lemurs are universally loved animals. They can be active and loud (has anybody ever seen a calling lemur NOT draw a crowd to its exhibit?). They are colorful and attractive animals with mellow personalities (lemuralities?).

Of all the lemur species the sifakas seem to get special attention. In the US this may be partly because a Coquerel's sifaka is the title character of the children's television program "Zoboomafoo" (PBS - Zoboomafoo). Sifakas were also featured in the Disney movie "Dinosaur", and seeing as they also resemble Coquerel's sikakas it seems likely that the Los Angeles Zoo lemur troop served as models for the animators. The Disney studio is very close to the zoo.

So I was wondering where people think the best sifaka exhibits in the world's zoos are and what makes a good sifaka exhibit. The Los Angeles Zoo has a pleasant exhibit with several trees for the sifakas to bounce around. The Sacramento Zoo also has a very good sifaka exhibit with lots of space for jumping, bouncing, and playing (http://www.zoochat.com/948/coquerels-sifaka-exhibit-233545/).

These are the only sifaka exhibits that I have seen although I know that there are several sifaka exhibits in the rest of the world (Bronx, Omaha, St. Louis, etc.). Where is (or are) the sifaka exhibits that should be the model for other zoos wanting sifakas?

Has anybody seen sifakas in the wild in Madgascar? Do the sifaka exhibits in the zoos of the world adequately display these animals based on your observations in the wild?
 
Saint Louis has a small indoor exhibit behind glass and and an outdoor cage for their sifakas. Not very good; though they do breed.

Omaha's is a nice, outdoor, netted exhibit. I'll try to get a photo next time I'm there.
 
DavidBrown said:
Has anybody seen sifakas in the wild in Madagascar? Do the sifaka exhibits in the zoos of the world adequately display these animals based on your observations in the wild?
Click to expand...

I have seen wild verreaux sifaka in a gallery forest in the Southwestern part of Madagascar and it was a marvelous experience. Plenty of climbing options is very important for sifakas but also some long stretches to jump across.

One thing that does seem quite important (especially for verreaux sifakas) is a lot of vertical branches standing upright. Sifakas use these particularly for moving about in their environment and hardly ever use horizontal branches. The exhibit in Apenheul is pretty good in this (and many more) aspects.
 
Last edited:
DavidBrown said:
It seems like lemurs are universally loved animals. They can be active and loud (has anybody ever seen a calling lemur NOT draw a crowd to its exhibit?). They are colorful and attractive animals with mellow personalities (lemuralities?).

Of all the lemur species the sifakas seem to get special attention. In the US this may be partly because a Coquerel's sifaka is the title character of the children's television program "Zoboomafoo" (PBS - Zoboomafoo). Sifakas were also featured in the Disney movie "Dinosaur", and seeing as they also resemble Coquerel's sikakas it seems likely that the Los Angeles Zoo lemur troop served as models for the animators. The Disney studio is very close to the zoo.

So I was wondering where people think the best sifaka exhibits in the world's zoos are and what makes a good sifaka exhibit. The Los Angeles Zoo has a pleasant exhibit with several trees for the sifakas to bounce around. The Sacramento Zoo also has a very good sifaka exhibit with lots of space for jumping, bouncing, and playing (http://www.zoochat.com/948/coquerels-sifaka-exhibit-233545/).

These are the only sifaka exhibits that I have seen although I know that there are several sifaka exhibits in the rest of the world (Bronx, Omaha, St. Louis, etc.). Where is (or are) the sifaka exhibits that should be the model for other zoos wanting sifakas?

Has anybody seen sifakas in the wild in Madgascar? Do the sifaka exhibits in the zoos of the world adequately display these animals based on your observations in the wild?
Click to expand...

I have not seen them in the wild, but I do know their behavioural needs from books on lemurs or, more generally, primates.

It would be interesting to see a zoo try and recreate the spiny forests in which they live, adding plant species such as Adansonia (baobab) species and Alluaudia species, especially A.ascendens.

I saw some of the latter species in the Rome botanical gardens and when I looked into it the room with the temperature re control and sprinkler systems, I concluded that it would be less expensive to make an exhibit like that, adding other species such as Fat tailed dwarf lemurs etc... and also adding other Madagascar habitats to include species like the Aloatran bamboo lemur.

It could also kick start a new era of recognition for Madagascan taxa and allow the conservation of many critically endangered species, demonstrating to the public that there is more to the breadth of Madagascan fauna than just Ring tailed lemurs and Tomato frogs.
 
I saw a Coquerel's sifaka at Ampijoroa in North-west Madagascar and a Verreaux's sifaka at Berenty in Southern Madagascar.

The only Zoo I've visited that had representatives of all extant lemur families was Paris Vincennes. When I visited in 1988, its collection included:
Fork-crowned lemur
Greater bamboo lemur
Red-tailed sportive lemur
Crowned sifaka
Aye-aye

Unfortunately, I never saw the hairy-eared dwarf lemur kept at the zoo from 1991-2002.
 
Unfortunately that is not the case any more...
I wish it was, but they still have a large lemur collection, which is impressive nonetheless. The website does not list all the species, unless zootierliste is outdated...
 
San Diego has their Coquerel's in a large exhibit with several other species of lemur. I know San Francisco has them as well, though I've only seen pictures of the exhibit. It seems large though.
 
Sifakas are and will be very rare in zoos in a foreseeable future. The reason is low founder base, slow breeding and the specialized leaf diet.

Sifakas need lots of climbing space with mostly vertical trunks or branches. They move by vertical clinging and jumping between vertical tree trunks, much unlike e.g. macaques. Important would be also tree trunks of diverse width, and preferably not exactly vertical. Also provide resting places in form of forked and more level branches, or sitting places near vertical tree trunk. Also, give space to demonstrate their incredible jumping abilities.

Perhaps optimal were large walk-through, chainlink or electrically fenced exhibits with live trees and tall vertical tree trunks. Ideally, separated by patches of open ground where sifakas demonstrate their bizarre bipedal hopping.

There is at least one sifaka living in a walk-through lemur exhibit in Britain successfully.

And Verreaux's Sifaka - the one well photographed when jumping in spiny thickets of Berenty - occurs also in normal decidious and gallery forests. These look not much different than some broadleaved forests in Europe.

Somebody mentioned also Alaotra gentle lemurs. These endangered lemurs are under-used potential in zoos. They live in reedbeds and feed also on a cosmopolitan Common Reed. A lake or a marsh with reeds would be a perfect naturalistic habitat for Alaotra gentle lemurs.
 
Mulhouse Zoo has a large collection of lemurs:
Ring-tailed lemur
White-collared brown lemur
Blue-eyed black lemur
Crowned lemur
Mongoose lemur
Red-bellied lemur
Lac Alaotra bamboo lemur
Black-and-white ruffed lemur (included white-belted subspecies)
Red ruffed lemur
Crowned sifaka
 
Dassie rat said:
Mulhouse Zoo has a large collection of lemurs:
Ring-tailed lemur
White-collared brown lemur
Blue-eyed black lemur
Crowned lemur
Mongoose lemur
Red-bellied lemur
Lac Alaotra bamboo lemur
Black-and-white ruffed lemur (included white-belted subspecies)
Red ruffed lemur
Crowned sifaka
Click to expand...

In mostly too small enclosures unfortunately...

In terms of Sifaka enclosures theirs is the worst I have seen. On pictures the one in Vincennes looks really good. The enclosure with the biggest height I have seen was Antananarivo Zoo for Verreaux sifaka.
 
I've personally seen two species of Sifaka.

-Coquerel's sifaka in the wild in North west Madagascar, and in a semi-captive setting at Lemurs Park, Antananarivo.
-The only captive Sifaka I've seen are the Crowned at Cotswold Wildlife Park (and again at Lemurs park). Whilst I don't remember the CWP exhibit being huge, it was well planted and provided climbing opportunities... It can't however compete with the Lemurs park "exhibit" where the Sifaka are able to free roam around the whole site.

As mentioned by @Jurek7 above, the individual with access to the walkthrough exhibit has access to much more space than those held in the separate exhibit/

With both Bristol and Chester receiving Coquerel's sifaka in the next year or so (I think), it will be nice to see what their enclosures end up looking like. I'm unfamiliar with Chesters new "Madagascar" area, so couldn't comment on where they'll be held.... In terms of Bristol, it's assumed that they will be held in the Drill exhibit that currently holds a single male (awaiting export). I'm interested to see if they'll do any major renovations or planting in the exhibit so that its more in line with the current lemur walk through.
 
Last edited:
ThomasNotTom said:
In terms of Bristol, it's assumed that they will be held in the current Drill exhibit that currently holds a single male (awaiting export). I'm interested to see if they'll do any major renovations or planting in the exhibit so that its more in line with the current lemur walk through.
Click to expand...

It seems likely this is where the Sifakas will go. I am very disappointed they have given up with Drills after such a relatively short period of keeping them- just a few years. It was a similar story with the Rock Wallabies. I can only assume the eye-catching Sifakas are deemed as making a better visitor impact.
 
Pertinax said:
It seems likely this is where the Sifakas will go. I am very disappointed they have given up with Drills after such a relatively short period of keeping them- just a few years. It was a similar story with the Rock Wallabies. I can only assume the eye-catching Sifakas are deemed as making a better visitor impact.
Click to expand...

I agree that its a shame - Drills are a nice species and I would have liked to see them stay. Personally, I would have gone out of the Howlers and moved the Sifaka in there (with some alterations to the enclosure of course). However, I'm sure they have their reasons... and as the replacement is Sifaka.... we can't really complain too much ;)

I think they made the right move with the Wallabies - they were far too skittish for the walkthrough being the size that it was. As soon as people entered, they went back inside - In the summer, I would guess that this wasn't the nicest for them. Having seen them at Flamingo land - they seem much more settled and comfortable around guests.
 
amur leopard said:
Very much like the second one...
Thank you!
Click to expand...

They're the same enclosure.

amur leopard said:
I saw some of the latter species in the Rome botanical gardens and when I looked into it the room with the temperature re control and sprinkler systems, I concluded that it would be less expensive to make an exhibit like that, adding other species such as Fat tailed dwarf lemurs etc... and also adding other Madagascar habitats to include species like the Aloatran bamboo lemur.
Click to expand...

How? I agree that it'd be great to see more Madagascar exhibits built in this fashion but how would they be less expensive?

~Thylo
 
I was recently at San Francisco Zoo and they had them, but I just saw one briefly in a large indoor space on my way out of the zoo (I was only there just over an hour before closing). I am not sure if they had an adjacent outdoor space but I think so? I do know the end of the area was fenced off for a new Madagascar exhibit, slated to open next year.
 
ThylacineAlive said:
They're the same enclosure.



How? I agree that it'd be great to see more Madagascar exhibits built in this fashion but how would they be less expensive?

~Thylo
Click to expand...

I know they are the same enclosure, I meant I like the area depicted in the second photo...

As for your other one, I have to apologise... that is a typo because I am using my phone right now because i am in Rome and didn't bring my laptop due to baggage restrictions etc... It was meant to read: I concluded that I wouldnt be very expensive to build an enclosure like that.
 
ThomasNotTom said:
I agree that its a shame - Drills are a nice species and I would have liked to see them stay. Personally, I would have gone out of the Howlers and moved the Sifaka in there (with some alterations to the enclosure of course). However, I'm sure they have their reasons... and as the replacement is Sifaka.... we can't really complain too much ;)

I think they made the right move with the Wallabies - they were far too skittish for the walkthrough being the size that it was. As soon as people entered, they went back inside - In the summer, I would guess that this wasn't the nicest for them. Having seen them at Flamingo land - they seem much more settled and comfortable around guests.
Click to expand...

Agree that I would have put the Sifakas in the main monkey area and kept the Drills as they were. The rock wallabies probably weren't suited to that type of walkthrough display- I suspect at Flamingo Park they can keep their distance more? But its a pity Bristol didn't just make a more suitable(non-walkthrough maybe) exhibit and keep them on.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top