Weekly dose of cute

This week's cute is a newborn Sifaka (Propithecus coronatus) named Tahina from a French Zoo. She's a beautiful baby girl, whose name means "needs to be protected."

Baby Sifaka
Baby Sifaka
Baby Sifaka

In the wild, this little girl would be carried in her mother's mouth until she was strong enough to hold onto her fur by herself. Devoid of a mother, the little lemur was given a teddy to cling to. Like all lemur species, Sifakas are found only on Madagascar, and are on the verge of extinction. This little girl is one of only 17 in captivity, and her species natural habitat is shrinking every day. The IUCN Red List states the wild population may have decreased by 50% in the past 30 years, and is still decreasing. So this little girl is a beacon of hope for captive breeding programs aiming to boost population numbers - and she definitely needs our protection.

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