WHITE SIFAKA LEMURS: BEAUTIFUL ANGELS OR GHOSTS IN THE MAKING?
Sometimes called “Ghosts of the Forest,” the Silky Sifaka Lemurs of Madagascar are a rare luxury to behold. With snowy plush fur, innocent babe-in-the-woods eyes, and long Lladro-esque limbs, these creatures dance, play, and love oblivious to their own decline. Some say as few as 100 remain in existence, though no one is certain. Their fates are subject to a complaint we’ve come to know as a common one: the ravages of man. Hunting, logging, human encroachment, and climate change all threaten to turn their nickname into a truism.
(Photo: Kevin Shafer, Smithsonian Magazine)
Dr. Erik R. Patel of Duke University is one of the leaders in efforts to save these magnificent creatures from extinction. His research has been featured in Smithsonian and National Geographic publications among significant others and will soon appear on Animal Planet.
Want to help? Visit the Silky Sifaka Conservation and Research in Madagascar and the Duke Lemur Center online.
