Sifakas are vertical clingers and leapers. Their hind limbs are far longer than their forelimbs, and the whole skeleton is arranged to press against a trunk and push off, covering several metres between trees. In the spiny forests of southern Madagascar this means landing repeatedly on trunks armed with thorns, which the thick palm and foot pads accommodate.
The same proportions make ordinary quadrupedal walking awkward. Placed on the ground, a sifaka rises onto its hind legs, raises its arms for balance and hops sideways. The gait has been analysed biomechanically and resembles a galloping pattern more than human bipedal walking, and it is used chiefly to cross gaps between trees rather than as a preferred means of travel.
Verreaux's sifaka is now listed as Critically Endangered. Its dry forest habitat is being cleared and burned for charcoal and pasture, and gaps that once meant a short sideways dash are becoming distances the animals cannot cross.