Romeo and Juliet

1996/01/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Zoologia

The monkey you can see in the photo attached is a sifak of the family of the indrides. In detail, biologists at Durham University know him as Romeo. Two years ago it was discovered in Madagascar by a group of biologists. From there he was transferred to Durham along with four other sifcas, but Romeo is the only one who overcame the harsh conditions of the trip. Since then she lives alone in the University's Center for Primatology. This beautiful animal needs to find its own juliet for the survival of its species and is dedicated to it.

The Madagascar siphcas are endangered animals. Its striking colours make it a precious hunting piece for tourists, who hunt mainly as curiosity. However, it is edible and the translation of its original name says that "it takes two days to eat this monkey". All this, together with the systematic destruction of its original habitat, has left Romeo in the most violent solitude and the species in grave danger.