AVAHI

(Avahi laniger), long-legged, arboreal primate belonging to the Madagascan family Indriidae. The avahi is grayish brown with reddish hands and feet and is about 35 cm (14 inches) long, excluding the furry, reddish, 39-centimetre (15-inch) tail. It has short arms, a short muzzle, and a round head with small ears hidden in the wooly fur. Nocturnal and apparently vegetarian, the avahis live in the rain forests in small groups and typically vertically cling to the trees. A single young is born after about five months' gestation. Of the two subspecies that inhabit the eastern and western forests of Madagascar, the western form faces extinction from the destruction of its habitat.