It lived in the northern part of Madagascar and shared its range with at least two other sloth lemur species, Palaeopropithecus ingens and Mesopropithecus dolichobrachion.

[6][7] The second wave of research was launched in the 1980s by biological anthropologist Elwyn L. Simons[8] who unearthed in 1988 at a cave known as Antsiroandoha in the Ankarana Massif, northern Madagascar a nearly complete skeleton and skull in addition to the remains of roughly a dozen other individuals.

[12] Its forelimbs were 20% longer than its hind limbs, giving it a higher intermembral index (~119) than Mesopropithecus (~97 to 113), suggesting that it was convergently similar to arboreal sloths.

[15] Additionally, analysis of its semicircular canals,[16] lumbar vertebrae and its spinous processes indicate slow movement and climbing (antipronograde) adaptations, but not necessarily sloth-like hanging, vertical clinging, or leaping.

[5] The cranial traits shared with the other sloth lemurs include relatively small orbits, robust zygomatic arches, and a mostly rectangular hard palate.

[1] The small orbits taken into consideration with the relative size of the optic canal suggest that Babakotia had low visual acuity, which is typical for lemurs.

[1][3][22] The restricted range of this arboreal primate, particularly during a time when much of the island was blanketed in forest, might have been due to habitat specificity, competitive exclusion, or some other unknown factor.

[8][24][25] Based on its size, the morphology of its molars, and microwear analysis on its teeth, Babakotia radofilai was likely a folivore, while supplementing its diet with fruit and hard seeds.

[5][11][20][26] In all sloth lemurs, including Babakotia radofilai, the permanent teeth erupted early, a trait seen in indriids that improves survivability of juveniles during the first dry season following weaning.

[22] Babakotia radofilai lived during the Holocene epoch and is thought to have disappeared shortly after the arrival of humans to the island, possibly within the last 1,000 years.