Madagascar

Picture of the Month

sifaka in tree

Some consider the Diademed Sifaka to be the most beautiful of Madagascar's lemurs. I can't disagree: their thick fur, lovely colors, and innocent expressions make them nearly irresistible. Getting a picture of them in the wild, however, is a real challenge.

To get this portrait, I had to scramble down a vine-tangled mountain slope, picking leeches off myself as I went, trying to keep up with a mobile troop of Sifakas. This one stopped for a few seconds on a bare branch -- and I got my only pictures of the day. Still, I was happy to have it - a glimpse of an endangered primate, perfectly at home in the cloud forests of Andasibe-Mantadia National Park.