On the island of Madagascar, nearly 300 miles off the coast of southeast Africa, flora and fauna have evolved independently from the rest of the world. Most of the mammals of Madagascar are found nowhere else in the world.

Madagascar (2004) 1,000 Ariary (front) - The Indri ( an animal, native to Madagascar only)

One vivid attention-getter is the lemur. More than 30 species of the thick-furred, big-eyed primates live in the island's thick forests. 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).[3]

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.[3] Unlike any other lemur, the Indri has only a rudimentary tail.

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.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Indri" and Wikipedia article "Lemur"