Crowned Sifakas at Cotswold WP, 05/03/11

Propithecus coronatus

That's an amazing shot. Do you know how long they have had the two living together. Both are males presumably?

Thanks! Looking at it now it would benefit from a bit of cropping actually...

Not sure how long they've been together except that they weren't together in April 2010! The single Ring-tailed Lemur that was keeping the original sifaka company is also still in here. They are both males - Cotswold should have 3.0 if nothing's changed but not sure where the last animal is being kept.

I was intrigued by the fact that they have managed to get the two together so I did a bit of digging ...

The three males at Cotswold WP are Youssou (b.1998), Douany (b.2001) and Bafana (b.2007): Youssou and Bafana have been successfully introduced. Attempts to introduce Douany failed due to aggression from Youssou who apparently would not accept another adult male.

All three males are being tested with implants (presumably to suppress testosterone levels) and the results of these tests could have positive implications for the heavily male-skewed population. It seems likely that Douany was shut in the house at the time of our visit if the introductions are still being attempted.

cool photo
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