Our silky sifaka monitoring team just returned from Marojejy National Park (Camp Marojejia or Camp 2). The current social group near that camp is small but doing well. There is an adult male named LFV, an adult female named VSC, and a subadult male named MBV. The acronyms are abbreviations for Malagasy words used by our monitoring team to identify the lemurs based on differences in coloration, size, age, and gender.
No traps or any signs of disturbance were found during this trip. Our team was able to find the group and collect ranging and feeding data during most of the 10 day mission. Unfortunately the infant born in July was missing and presumably has died. A few months ago, we were informed that it had a facial deformity or injury to the upper lip, which was either a congenital defect or from suffering an early trauma, perhaps a fall or due to predation.
Silky sifakas are critically endangered and one of the rarest primates in the world. None exist outside of Madagascar. They are the flagship species of Marojejy National Park, part of the Atsinanana World Heritage Site. This park is one of two in northeastern Madagascar in which LCF focuses its lemur conservation initiatives.