Meet Munchkin. Behold the Munchkin wave.

Ring-tailed lemurs use behavioral mechanisms to regulate their body temperatures. When its really hot in the afternoon, they hang out in the shade, hug onto cool rocks, and sometimes lick their hands. When its cold at night they huddle together in balls, and in the morning they warm up by "sunning". When sunning, they sit upright, stretch out, and get as much warmth as possible on their bellies, and arms and legs.

Lemur sunning. Its pretty great.

"Munchkin" is an eight month old ring-tailed lemur from one of the groups I study at Tsimanampetsotsa. Munchkin's sunning tactics totally crack me up, as he always seems to have his left hand sticking way out. I've dubbed his sunning style the 'Munchkin wave'. Check it out.

Holotype. The Munchkin wave. 

Paratype. The Munchkin wave. 

Thinking about the Munchkin wave.

Just a quick Munchkin wave before taking off.

 

Falling asleep Munchkin wave. 

A rare double-handed Munchkin wave. 

And finally, an E.T. style Munchkin wave. 

You're welcome.