The
Indri (
Indri indri), also called the
Babakoto, is one of the largest living
lemurA lemur is a member of the biological infraorder Lemuriformes, a prosimian and strepsirrhine primate that is endemic to the island of Madagascar. The term "lemur" is derived from the Latin word lemures, meaning "spirits of the night" or "haunter". This likely refers to their large, reflective eyes...
s. It is a
diurnalDiurnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the day and sleeping at night. Animals that are not diurnal might be nocturnal or crepuscular . Many animal species are diurnal, including many mammals, insects and birds...
tree-dweller related to the
sifakaSifakas are a genus from the primate family Indriidae. Like all lemurs, they are found only on the island of Madagascar.Sifakas are diurnal and arboreal....
s and, like all lemuroids, it is native to
MadagascarMadagascar, or Republic of Madagascar , is an island nation in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa. The main island, also called Madagascar, is the fourth-largest island in the world, and is home to 5% of the world's plant and animal species, of which more than 80% are endemic to...
.
The word "indri" is a corruption of the
MalagasyMalagasy is the national language of Madagascar.-History:The Malagasy language is unrelated to nearby African languages, instead being the westernmost member of the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian language family, a fact noted as long ago as the eighteenth century...
word "indry", meaning "there" or "there it is."
FrenchFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
naturalist
Pierre SonneratPierre Sonnerat was a French naturalist and explorer.Sonnerat was the nephew of the botanist Pierre Poivre. He made several voyages to southeast Asia, visiting the Philippines and Moluccas between 1769 and 1772, and India and China from 1774 to 1781. He was the first person to give a scientific...
heard a Malagasy point out the animal and took the word to be its name. The Malagasy name for the animal is
Babakoto.
The
Indri (
Indri indri), also called the
Babakoto, is one of the largest living
lemurA lemur is a member of the biological infraorder Lemuriformes, a prosimian and strepsirrhine primate that is endemic to the island of Madagascar. The term "lemur" is derived from the Latin word lemures, meaning "spirits of the night" or "haunter". This likely refers to their large, reflective eyes...
s. It is a
diurnalDiurnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the day and sleeping at night. Animals that are not diurnal might be nocturnal or crepuscular . Many animal species are diurnal, including many mammals, insects and birds...
tree-dweller related to the
sifakaSifakas are a genus from the primate family Indriidae. Like all lemurs, they are found only on the island of Madagascar.Sifakas are diurnal and arboreal....
s and, like all lemuroids, it is native to
MadagascarMadagascar, or Republic of Madagascar , is an island nation in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa. The main island, also called Madagascar, is the fourth-largest island in the world, and is home to 5% of the world's plant and animal species, of which more than 80% are endemic to...
.
Etymology
The word "indri" is a corruption of the
MalagasyMalagasy is the national language of Madagascar.-History:The Malagasy language is unrelated to nearby African languages, instead being the westernmost member of the Malayo-Polynesian branch of the Austronesian language family, a fact noted as long ago as the eighteenth century...
word "indry", meaning "there" or "there it is."
FrenchFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
naturalist
Pierre SonneratPierre Sonnerat was a French naturalist and explorer.Sonnerat was the nephew of the botanist Pierre Poivre. He made several voyages to southeast Asia, visiting the Philippines and Moluccas between 1769 and 1772, and India and China from 1774 to 1781. He was the first person to give a scientific...
heard a Malagasy point out the animal and took the word to be its name. The Malagasy name for the animal is
Babakoto. Babakoto (pronounced
baba-koot) is most commonly translated as "ancestor" or "father", but several translations are possible. "Koto" is a Malagasy word for "little boy", and "baba" is a term for "father", so the word "babakoto" may be translated as "father of a little boy." The father-son dynamic of many of the Babakoto origin myths helps to explain the Malagasy name.
Physical characteristics
Along with the
Diademed SifakaThe Diademed Sifaka is an endangered species of sifaka, one of the lemurs endemic to certain rainforests in eastern Madagascar. This species is one of the world's largest living lemurs, with a total adult length of approximately 105 centimetres , half of which is tail...
, the Indri is the largest lemur still in existence. It has a head-body length of 64-72 cm (2-2.4 ft) and can reach nearly 120 cm (4 ft) with legs fully extended. It can weigh up to 13 kg (29 lbs).
The Indri is a vertical clinger and leaper and thus holds its body upright when traveling through trees or resting in branches. It has long, muscular legs which it uses to propel itself from trunk to trunk. Its large greenish eyes and black face are framed by round, fuzzy ears that some say give it the appearance of a teddy bear. The silky fur is mostly black with white patches along the limbs, neck, crown, and lower back. Different populations of the species show wide variations in color, with some northern populations consisting of mostly or entirely black individuals. The face is bare with pale black skin, and it is sometimes fringed with white fur. Unlike any other lemur, the Indri has only a rudimentary tail.
Behavior
The Indri practices long-term
monogamyMonogamy is the state of having only one sexual partner at any one time. The word monogamy comes from the Greek word monos "μονός", which means one or alone, and the Greek word gamos "γάμος", which means marriage or union...
, seeking a new partner only after the death of a mate. It lives in small groups consisting of the mated male and female and their maturing offspring. In the more fragmented forests of their range, the Indri may live in larger groups with several generations.
Habitat fragmentationHabitat fragmentation is a process of environmental change important in evolution and conservation biology. As the name implies, it describes the emergence of discontinuities in an organism's preferred environment...
limits the mobility and capacity of these large groups to break into smaller units.
Reproduction
Female Indri bear offspring every two to three years, with a gestation period of approximately 60 days. The single infant is usually born in May or June. The mother is the primary caregiver, though the father assists, remaining with his mate and offspring. Infants are born mostly or completely black and begin to show white coloration (if any) by two or three months of age. The infant will cling to its mother's belly until it is four or five months old, at which time it is ready to move onto her back. The Indri begins to demonstrate independence at eight months, but it will not be fully independent from its mother until it is at least two years old. The Indri reaches reproductive maturity between seven and nine years of age: a relatively slow rate.
Communication
The Indri is well known for its loud, distinctive songs, which can last from 45 seconds to more than 3 minutes. Song duration and structure varies among and even within groups, but most songs have the following three-phase pattern.
Usually, a "roar sequence" lasting for several seconds will precede the more characteristic vocalizations. All members of the group (except the very young) participate in this roar, but the song proper is dominated by the adult pair. They follow the roar with a "long note sequence", characterized by notes of up to 5 seconds in duration. After this is the "descending phrase sequence". The wails begin on a high note and become progressively lower-pitched. It is common here for two or more Indri to coordinate the timing of their descending notes to form a duet.
Different Indri groups typically sing sequentially, responding to one another. As well as solidifying contacts between groups, the songs may communicate territorial defense and boundaries, environmental conditions, reproductive potential of the group members, and warning signals. The Indri may sing after disturbances such as thunder, airplanes, bird calls, and other lemur calls. A group will sing almost every day, up to seven times daily. The peak singing hours are between 7 and 11 AM. Daily frequency of song is highest in November and December (near breeding season), when the Indri are even heard during the night.
Several other Indri vocalizations have been identified. The “roar” is also used as a warning signal for aerial predators such as hawks. The Indri emit a "hoot" or "honk" to warn of terrestrial predators such as the
fossaThe fossa is a mammal endemic to Madagascar. A member of family Eupleridae, it is closely related to the mongoose. It is the largest mammalian carnivore on the island of Madagascar...
. Other vocal categories include the "grunt", "kiss", "wheeze", and "hum". The purpose of these is still not entirely clear.
Diet and feeding
The Indri is
herbivorousA herbivore is an animal that is adapted to eat plants and not meat.Herbivory is a form of predation in which an organism consumes principally autotrophs such as plants, algae and photosynthesizing bacteria....
and primarily
folivorousIn zoology, a folivore is a herbivore that specializes in eating leaves. Mature leaves contain a high proportion of hard-to-digest cellulose, relatively little energy, and often toxic compounds.. For this reason folivorous animals tend to have long digestive tracts and slow metabolisms. Many enlist...
. It prefers young, tender leaves but will also eat seeds, fruits, and flowers. Female Indri seem to have greater preference for immature leaves than males do and will spend more time foraging among them. A wide variety of plant species are consumed, with members of the
laurel familyThe Lauraceae or Laurel family comprises a group of flowering plants included in the order Laurales. The family contains about 55 genera and over 2000 species world-wide, mostly from warm or tropical regions, especially Southeast Asia and Brazil...
featuring prominently in the diet. The Indri consumes little non-tree vegetation.
To feed, the Indri plucks off a leaf or other plant part with its teeth. It uses its hands to pull tree branches closer to its mouth.
Distribution
This lemur inhabits the
lowlandThe Madagascar lowland forests are a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion, found on the eastern coast of the island of Madagascar.-Setting:...
and
montaneIn biogeography, montane is the highland area located below the subalpine zone. Montane regions generally have cooler temperatures and often have higher rainfall than the adjacent lowland regions, and are frequently home to distinct communities of plants and animals.The term "montane" means "of the...
forests along the eastern coast of Madagascar, from the Réserve Spéciale d’Anjanaharibe-Sud in the north to the Mangoro River in the south. They are absent from the
Masoala PeninsulaMadagascar is an island in the Indian Ocean, off the eastern coast of southern Africa, east of Mozambique. It is the fourth largest island in the world. The highest point is Maromokotro, in the Tsaratanana Massif region in the north of the island, at . The capital, Antananarivo, is in the Hauts...
and the Marojejy National Park, even though both regions are connected to forests where indri do occur less than 40 km away.
Mythology
Across Madagascar, the Indri is revered and protected by fady. There are countless variations on the legend of the Indri's origins, but they all treat it as a sacred animal, not to be hunted or harmed.
According to one origin myth, a boy went into the forest to collect honey, was stung by bees, and fell from a tree. An Indri caught him and carried him to safety.
Most legends establish a closer relationship between the Indri and humans. In some regions it is believed that there were two brothers who lived together in the forest until one of them decided to leave and cultivate the land. That brother became the first human, and the brother who stayed in the forest became the first Indri. The Indri cries in mourning for his brother who went astray.
Another legend tells of a man who went hunting in the forest and did not return. His absence worried his son, who went out looking for him. When the son also disappeared, the rest of the villagers ventured into the forest seeking the two but discovered only two large lemurs sitting in the trees: the first Indri. The boy and his father had transformed. In some versions it is only the son who transforms, and the wailing of the Babakoto is analogous to the father’s wailing for his lost son.
In all of the Babakoto origin myths, there is some connection of the lemur with humanity, usually through common ancestry. It is easy to see why the Indri is so closely identified with humans. Its long legs, large upright body, lack of a prominent tail, vocalizations, and complex systems of communication are all reminiscent of human traits.
Another human-like characteristic of the Indri is its behavior in the sun. Like its
sifakaSifakas are a genus from the primate family Indriidae. Like all lemurs, they are found only on the island of Madagascar.Sifakas are diurnal and arboreal....
relatives, the Indri frequently engages in what has been described as sun-bathing or sun-worshipping. As the sun rises each morning, it will sit and face it from a tree branch with its legs crossed, back straight, hands low with palms facing out or resting on its knees, and eyes half-closed. Biologists are hesitant to call this behavior sun worship, as the term may be overly anthropomorphic. However, many Malagasy people do believe that the Indri worships the sun.
Conservation
The Indri is an endangered species. The primary threats to its existence are
habitat destructionHabitat destruction is the process in which natural habitat is rendered functionally unable to support the species present. In this process, the organisms which previously used the site are displaced or destroyed, reducing biodiversity. Habitat destruction by human activity mainly for the purpose...
and
fragmentationHabitat fragmentation is a process of environmental change important in evolution and conservation biology. As the name implies, it describes the emergence of discontinuities in an organism's preferred environment...
due to
slash and burnSlash and burn consists of cutting and burning of forests or woodlands to create fields for agriculture or pasture for livestock, or for a variety of other purposes...
agriculture, fuelwood gathering, and logging. This kind of destruction occurs even in protected areas.
The Indri is also widely hunted, despite the many origin myths and traditional taboos (
fady) which hold it sacred. Cultural erosion and
immigrationImmigration is the arrival of new individuals into a habitat or population. It is a biological concept and is important in population ecology, differentiated from emigration and migration.-As a political term:...
are partly to blame for the breakdown of traditional beliefs. In some cases, Malagasy people who resent the protective
fady find ways to circumvent them. People whose
fady forbid them from eating the Indri may still hunt the lemurs and sell their flesh, and those forbidden to kill the Indri may still purchase and consume them. Indri meat is prized as a delicacy in some regions.
External links