Lemurs hug tree trunks to chill down when temperatures high 30°C

A sort of lemur referred to as a white sifaka embraces the bottom of some timber to launch warmth, with the underside of the trunk being as much as 5°C cooler than the encircling air

By Richard Kemeny

Lemurs appear to hug timber to maintain cool on sweltering days.

Chloe Chen‑Kraus, affiliated with Yale College, and her colleagues observed that within the Bezà Mahafaly Particular Reserve in south-west Madagascar, a sort of lemur referred to as the white sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi) hugs the bottom of tree trunks on significantly sizzling days.

“Once we first noticed it, it was simply so uncommon as a result of these are extremely arboreal [tree-dwelling] primates,” she says.

With sifakas having fewer sweat glands than most …