We talk with lemur PhD researcher Mariah Donohue about her research in Ranomafana, her time in Madagascar during the COVID-19 pandemic, and her undying love for brown lemurs.
Lemurs Celebrated Worldwide for the 2020 World Lemur Festival
The 2020 World Lemur Festival was a great success! Thank you to all of the zoos, organizations, universities, artists, and lemur fans around the world who celebrated lemurs and spread messages about their conservation! Compared to last year, the 2020 festival saw more organizations holding events, more social media about lemurs, and more money raised! Over twice as many organizations participated around the world, including zoos and universities in Madagascar, the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, and Asia. Looking […]
Eco Map- The Earth Needs You!
Every year, 15.3 billion trees are cut down, 76 million tons of pollution is put into the atmosphere, sea level rises 3.4 millimeters, and at least 1 million animals die of air pollution or plastic. This may come as a huge disappointment, especially for those who love the natural environment; however, this is the harsh truth that needs to be addressed immediately. We realized there are far too many environmental issues occurring throughout the world and we can’t be in […]
How much of Madagascar’s forest have we really lost?
There has been much recent debate over the extent to which Madagascar forest cover has disappeared over time. Some estimate that around 80 to 90% of the forest cover is gone (1), while others argue that the number is actually smaller, although still significant (2). According to McConnell and Kull (2014), it is difficult to measure the net loss of forest cover due to the messy process of integrating conflicting and problematic historical data, satellite imagery, and air photos. It’s […]
Top 10 Facts About Lemurs
What loves to bask in the early sunlight, has sweat glands in their wrists, and is found only in Madagascar? If you said the lemur, then you guessed right. We will highlight what makes lemurs so fascinating and unique, explore why they need protecting, and share what you can do to help them. For example, did you know lemurs are Incredible pollinators? Or that they use stink fights to resolve group problems?
How Zoos Support Wildlife Conservation
It’s fair to say that zoos have moved away from the image of just being a place for entertainment. Although recreation is still an important focus for zoos, they now place a lot of value on education, research and conservation. When it comes to conservation, zoos have the ability to conduct plenty of ex situ conservation work, such as captive breeding programs. But, there are also lots of ways that they help support in situ conservation efforts that take place […]
How do Lemur Diets affect their Cognition?
What impact does diet have on lemur cognition? Why do some lemur species have more robust spatial memory than others? Although relatively little is known about cognition or memory capabilities in lemurs, there is growing evidence that the answer to the above question may actually have something to do with differences in diet between lemur species. In this blog post, we will explore this research and discuss what it means for lemurs’ cognitive ability. Spatial Memory supports retrieval of the […]
A New Project to Build Communication and Outreach Capacity for Malagasy Organizations
We are very happy to launch our new project “Building communication and outreach capacity for Malagasy organizations to grow local knowledge and support for lemur conservation in Madagascar”! This project addresses the need for more education and information about lemurs, their importance, and their conservation in the Malagasy language. Additionally, it responds to the challenges faced by Malagasy conservation organizations when communicating their work to local, national, and global audiences. This project will benefit the conservation of more than 26 lemur […]
