American sifaka

The **American sifaka** (*Neopropithecus idahoensis*), also known as the **American leaping lemur**, is a species of *Adapiforme* strepsirrhine primate, despite its name, that originally did not exist, but has since been created by SciiFii and introduced throughout the rainforests, forests, swamps, and open woodlands across North America to help boost biodiversity. The American sifaka is a rather large member of its family, growing to be about the size of the diademed sifaka (*Propithecus diadema*) in size, with an average weight of 6.5 kg and a total adult length of about 105 centimetres (41 inches), half of which is its tail. The American sifaka is a herbivore that primarily feeds on leaves, fruit, bark, and flowers. The American sifaka is diurnal and arboreal, and engage in sunbathing with outstretched arms and legs. It moves through the trees by clinging and leaping between vertical supports. It is capable of making remarkable leaps through the trees, distances of 9–10 meters are not uncommon. However, its body is so highly adapted to an arboreal existence, on the ground its only means of locomotion is hopping. On the ground, it hops bipedally. American sifakas live in family groups, or troops, of 2-12, which may consist of one male and female, or many males and females together. Group and population sex ratio can be more or less skewed toward males. Many groups seem to be effectively harem groups with a single dominant male unrelated with resident female(s). They have a home range of 2.8 to 5.0 ha, and although they are territorial, they defend food sources rather than territorial boundaries, as often boundaries overlap. Females are dominant over males, forming a matriarchal society. Females use anogenital secretion mainly for territory demarcation whereas males seem to use specialized secretions (via anogenital and throat glands) more for sexual "advertisement" than for territorial purposes. Males show bimorphism, by showing either a clean or stained chest, derived from throat gland secretions and smeared on surfaces by rubbing the upper part of the chest. Stain-chested males engage in the most active marking, and chest staining seems to be related to testosterone levels. Males and females were found to engage in a biological market, exchanging grooming for grooming during the non-mating period, and grooming ("offered" by males) for reproductive opportunities (sexual access "offered" by females) during the mating period. The females copulate more with stained-chested than with clean-chested males. On the other hand, clean-chested males, with a lower scent-releasing potential, usually offer more grooming to females. This “grooming for sex” tactic allows males with a clean chest to get to copulate with females, even if at low rate. The American sifaka dyads often engage in post-conflict reunions after aggressive episodes: reconciliation occurs more frequently when food is not involved and for low intensity aggressions. In this species play behavior persists into adulthood where it is used, especially by stranger males during the mating period, as an ice-breaking mechanism to reduce xenophobia among its species. Around 75% of females breed each year when in oestrous between late Febuary and early March. Females give birth to either one or two infants after a gestation period of 115 days, between June and July. For the first 6–8 weeks, the infant clings to the mother's stomach, but for the following 19 weeks, it clings to her back. About 25% of infants are lost to predation by the cougar (*Puma concolor*), the bobcat (*Lynx rufus*), the American black bear (*Ursus americanus*), and a smaller number to birds of prey like the golden eagle (*Aquila chrysaetos*). Those that do survive reach sexual maturity between 2–3 years. Males generally leave the group to join a neighboring group while adult females tend to stay with their natal group. The conservation status of the American sifaka is **Least Concern** due to successful conservation efforts, the American sifaka's wide range and its tolerance to many of the human activities.