冕狐猴 (the Diademed Sifaka, Propithecus diadema)
Just like wearing a long, silky and luxuriant coat, the sifaka that Dr. Russell Mittermeier describes it as "one of the most colorful and attractive of all the lemurs", it's the Diademed Sifaka (Propithecus diadema). Andasibe NP is the best place to see the diademed sifakas, also we can find some other lemurs that share the same territory with the diademed sifakas, like the red-bellied lemur (Eulemur rubriventer), the common brown lemur (Eulemur fulvus) and the indri (Indri indri). Especially the indris, there's about 90% of the range which shared with the diademed sifakas. Why the two similar-sized big lemurs can endure each other in the same tree? One reason is that they eat different part of the plant (the indri prefer immature leaves, while the sifaka eat mainly fruits and flowers); and while they feed in the canopy, indri normally forage at 13-meter-high while the sifaka stay slightly lower, it's about 11-meter-high. Wildlife also understand the market segmentation to avoid excessive competition, impressive!
看起來像是穿著一件華麗的長大衣,被當代狐猴研究權威Dr. Russell Mittermeier譽為最美麗的狐猴之一,冕狐猴 (the Diademed Sifaka, Propithecus diadema) 就是美的這麼理直氣壯。Andasibe NP是較容易觀察冕狐猴的地方,同時也可以觀察到其它和冕狐猴共享領域的狐猴,例如赤腹狐猴 (Eulemur rubriventer)、褐狐猴 (Eulemur fulvus) 以及光面狐猴 (Indri indri)。尤其是光面狐猴,大約有90%的領域是和冕狐猴共享的,體型相近的這兩種大型狐猴究竟為什麼可以容忍彼此在同一棵樹上取食?原因就在於,即便牠們喜歡的植物大部分都相同,但是偏好取食的部位卻有所區隔 (光面狐猴喜歡嫩葉,冕狐猴則喜歡果實或者花);以及雖然牠們都喜歡棲息在樹冠層,但是棲息的高度也略有落差 (光面狐猴偏好在約13公尺高的樹枝上,冕狐猴則主要棲息於11公尺左右的樹上)。野生動物也懂市場區隔避免過度競爭,佩服! 

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